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Capsella bursa-pastoris
Also called Common Shepherd's Purse, Shepherdspurse, Case Weed, Pepper Plant, Shepher's Tree, Shepherds Purse, Shepherd’s Purse
Shepherd's purse is a small annual or biennial weed of the cabbage family, found almost everywhere in temperate regions. It is grown as a wild edible and herb rather than as an ornamental, and it is easy to establish from seed in any open ground.
Capsella bursa-pastoris, commonly known as shepherd's purse or lady's purse, is a small flowering plant in the mustard family. It has been described as a protocarnivore because its seeds contain mucilage, which traps nematodes.
The plant is native to Eurasia but is naturalized and considered a common weed in many parts of the world, especially in colder climates. It has a number of culinary uses.
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, including the British Isles (where it is regarded as an archaeophyte), North America, and China, but also in the Mediterranean and North Africa. C. bursa-pastoris is the second-most prolific wild plant in the world and is common on cultivated ground and waysides and meadows.
Capsella bursa-pastoris gathered from the wild or cultivated has many uses, including for food, to supplement animal feed, for cosmetics, and in traditional medicine—reportedly to stop bleeding. The plant can be eaten raw; the leaves are best when gathered young. Native Americans ground it into a meal and made a beverage from it.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Capsella bursa-pastoris by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
