Summary ²

Capsella bursa-pastoris, known by its common name shepherd's purse because of its triangular flat fruits, which are purse-like, is a small (up to 0.5 m) annual and ruderal flowering plant in the mustard family Brassicaceae. It is native to eastern Europe and Asia minor, but is naturalized and considered a common weed in many parts of the world, especially in colder climates.

Shepherd's Purse is an annual or biennial herb, highly variable in leaf and fruit shape, grows up to 40cm tall; stems usually have long, white hairs. Basal rosette of leaves with leaf blades up to 10 x 2cm, pinnately-lobed to undivided; leaves arranged alternately on lower part of flowering stem, clasping, arrow-shaped base. Tiny (c.2.5mm across) white flowers arranged in terminal clusters on short stalks from the main stem; lower flowers mature first; 4 petals arranged in a cross. Fruits are distinctive triangular to heart-shaped pods, flattened, 6-9 mm long, containing several seeds; attached to main stem by stalk, longer than fruit; seeds dispersed by attachment to animals; seed viability in soil may be 5 years or more. Grows on all soils and has very broad ecological requirements.

Distribution ³

King Edward Cove

Comments ⁴

Distinctive triangular seed pods on stalk from rosette. Shepherd's Purse could be mistaken for bittercress however the latter has fully pinnate leaves and its fruits are long and narrow. Young plants may also be confused with dandelion however the latter has more divided leaves with tips of lobes pointing down towards the leaf base.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) José María Escolano, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/42786943@N07/4568583466
2. Adapted by stuwhiterod from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsella_bursa-pastoris
3. (c) Kelvin Floyd, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
4. Adapted by stuwhiterod from a work by (c) Kelvin Floyd, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

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