Shepherd's Purse

Capsella bursa-pastoris

Please keep in mind that it is illegal to uproot a plant without the landowner's consent and care should be taken at all times not to damage wild plants. Wild plants should never be picked for pleasure and some plants are protected by law.
For more information please download the BSBI Code of Conduct PDF document.

Plant Data

Flowering Months:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Order:

Brassicales

Family:

Brassicaceae (Cabbage)

Also in this family:

Black Mustard, Common Whitlowgrass, Cuckooflower, Dame's-violet, Danish Scurvygrass, Field Pennycress, Garlic Mustard, Greater Cuckooflower, Greater Periwinkle, Hairy Bittercress, Hairy Rock-cress, Hedge Mustard, Hoary Stock, Honesty, Horseradish, Large Bittercress, Lesser Swinecress, Marsh Yellowcress, Oilseed Rape, Purple Rock-cress, Sea Radish, Sea Rocket, Smith's Pepperwort, Sweet Alyssum, Tall Rocket, Thale Cress, Wallflower, Watercress, Wavy Bittercress, Wintercress

Type:

Flower

Maximum Size:

50 centimetres tall

Habitats:

Farmland, gardens, lawns, meadows, roadsides, wasteland.

Flower:

White, 4 petals

White, forming loose clusters, 4 petals, 6 yellowish-green stamens.

Fruit:

Many distinctive heart-shaped fruits, up to 9mm wide. Many-seeded and stalked.

Leaves:

This is an overwintering flower. A basal rosette is present. The stem leaves are short-stalked and alternate along the stems. The leaves can be toothed or untoothed. They are linear in shape with arrow-shaped lobes at their bases.

Aroma:

Slightly fragrant.

Other Names:

Blind Weed, Caseweed, Chinese Cress, Cocowort, Common Shepherd's Purse, Lady's Purse, Locowort, Mother's Heart, Pick-pocket, Pick-purse, Poor Man's Parmacettie, Rattle Pouches, Sanguinary, Shepherd's Heart, Shepherd's Scrip, Shepherd's Sprout, Shovelweed, St James's Weed, Tabouret, Toywort, Witches' Pouches.

Frequency (UK):

Abundant

Similar Species:

Thale Cress

Distribution Map

Reproduced by kind permission of the BSBI.

Click to open an Interactive Map