Eastern Forest Threat Center - Shepherd's Purse

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Shepherd's purse

Shepherd's purse

Mary Ellen Harte, Bugwood.org

Shepherd's Purse
Capsella bursa-pastoris

Shepherd’s purse, native to Europe, is a common weed throughout North America.

Keywords: Brassicaceae, annual, biennial, forb, erect, star-shaped hairs, toothed stem leaves, flower clusters, elongated fruit pods, open soil, disturbance

Distribution Map Distribution Source Image

Threat Description

Shepherd’s purse is an erect annual to biennial forb in the mustard family growing to 26 in. in height. Stems are simple to branched, with short, star-shaped hairs. Leaves are basal clustered or in a rosette, lance-shaped, broadest toward the tip, 1-2½ in. long, stalked, and almost entire to pinnately lobed with a larger lobe at the tip. Stem leaves are smaller, alternate, stalkless and clasping, and lance-shaped to oblong, mostly with shallow, sharp teeth. Small obovate to spoon-shaped flowers are white to pink in color, appearing on slender spreading stalks from May to July and forming round clusters that give way to elongated fruits. Fruit pods are triangular to heart-shaped, strongly flattened, and long-stalked. Each pod produces numerous minute dull orange seeds that are dispersed by wind, water, animals, and vehicle tires. Seeds require open soil and disturbance to germinate. Shepherd’s purse is found mainly on clay to sandy loam soils with pH ranging from 5.0 to 8.0. It is found growing in disturbed areas, gardens, farmland, fallow land, roadsides, trails, and old homesites, where it colonizes open ground and may inhibit the establishment of native species.