Shepherds Purse

Shepherds Purse

[Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medicus]

Brassicaceae (Mustard Family)

mature plant ▲

flowers and fruit ▲

Shepherd’s Purse: (pp. 200-201, Weeds of the Great Plains; pp. 172-173, Weeds of the Northeast)

a cool-season annual, with deeply lobed leaves in a basal rosette
inflorescence grows 1-1.5' tall, with small white flowers followed by heart-shaped seed pods; can flower almost year-round
seeds very long-lived in the soil
common in cool-season annual crops, gardens, landscapes, roadsides, almost any disturbed site around the world