All Topics  
Shepherd's Purse

 
Shepherd's Purse

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Shepherd's Purse
 
 
  Topics Shepherd's Purse Topic Home

Capsella bursa-pastoris, known by its common name shepherd's-purse because of its triangular, purse-like pods, is a small (up to 0.5m) annual and ruderal species
Ruderal species

A ruderal species is a plant species that is first to colonise disturbed lands. The disturbance may be natural , or due to human influence - constructional , or agricultural ....
, and a member of the Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae

Brassicaceae or Cruciferae, also known as the crucifers, the mustard family or cabbage family is a Family of flowering plants ....
 or mustard family. It is native to eastern Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 and Asia minor but is naturalized and considered a common weed in many parts of the world, especially in colder climates, including Britain, where it is regarded as an archaeophyte
Archaeophyte

An archaeophyte is a plant species which is non-native to a geographical region, but which was introduced in "ancient" times, rather than being a modern introduction....
, North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
 and China but also in the Mediterranean and North Africa.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Shepherd's Purse'
Start a new discussion about 'Shepherd's Purse'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Capsella bursa-pastoris, known by its common name shepherd's-purse because of its triangular, purse-like pods, is a small (up to 0.5m) annual and ruderal species
Ruderal species

A ruderal species is a plant species that is first to colonise disturbed lands. The disturbance may be natural , or due to human influence - constructional , or agricultural ....
, and a member of the Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae

Brassicaceae or Cruciferae, also known as the crucifers, the mustard family or cabbage family is a Family of flowering plants ....
 or mustard family. It is native to eastern Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 and Asia minor but is naturalized and considered a common weed in many parts of the world, especially in colder climates, including Britain, where it is regarded as an archaeophyte
Archaeophyte

An archaeophyte is a plant species which is non-native to a geographical region, but which was introduced in "ancient" times, rather than being a modern introduction....
, North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
 and China but also in the Mediterranean and North Africa. Capsella bursa-pastoris is closely related to the model organism
Model organism

A model organism is a species that is extensively studied to understand particular biology phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the organism model will provide insight into the workings of other organisms....
 Arabidopsis thaliana
Arabidopsis thaliana

Arabidopsis thaliana , is a small flowering plant native to Europe, Asia, and northwestern Africa. A spring annual with a relatively short life cycle, Arabidopsis is popular as a model organism in plant biology and genetics....
 and is also used as a model organism due to the variety of genes expressed throughout its life cycle that can be compared to genes that are well studied in A. thaliana. Unlike most flowering plants, it flowers
Phenology

Phenology is the study of periodic plant and animal life cycle events and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate....
 almost all year round. Like many other annual ruderals exploiting disturbed ground, C. bursa-pastoris reproduces entirely from seed, has a long soil seed bank
Soil Seed Bank

The soil seed bank is the collective name for the store of seeds, often dormant, which are stored within the soil of many terrestrial ecosystems....
, and short generation time and is capable of producing several generations each year.

Description


C. bursa-pastoris plants grow from a rosette
Rosette (botany)

In botany, a rosette is a circular arrangement of leaves, with all the leaves at a single height.Though rosettes usually sit near the soil, their structure is an example of a modified stem....
 of lobed leaves at the base. From the base emerges a stem about 0.2 to 0.5 meters tall, which bears a few pointed leaves which partly grasp the stem. The flowers are white and small, in loose raceme
Raceme

A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate growth and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called Pedicel s — along the axis....
s, and produce seed pods which are heart-shaped.

Like a number of other plants in several plant families, its seeds contain a substance known as mucilage
Mucilage

Mucilage is a chemical polarity glycoprotein; an polysaccharide; a polymer produced by most plants and some microorganisms.It occurs in various parts of nearly all classes of plant, usually in relatively small percentages, and is frequently associated with other substances, such as tannins and alkaloids....
, a condition known as myxospermy. The adaptive value of myxospermy is unknown, although the fact that mucilage becomes sticky when wet has led some to propose that C. bursa-pastoris traps insects which then provide nutrients to the seedling, which would make it protocarnivorous
Protocarnivorous plant

A protocarnivorous plant , according to some definitions, traps and kills insects or other animals but lacks the ability to either directly digestion or absorb nutrients from its prey like a carnivorous plant....
.

Uses

C. bursa-pastoris is gathered from the wild or grown for food to supplement animal feed, for cosmetics, and for medicinal purposes.

Parasites

  • White rust Albugo candida
    Albugo candida

    White rust, Albugo candida is a species from family Albuginaceae; however, all the other species in this family are called "white rust." Like other water moulds which are plant pathogens, it is sometimes called a fungus, although water moulds are not classified in the kingdom Fungi....


See also

  • List of beneficial weeds
    List of beneficial weeds

    This is a list of undomesticated or feral plants, considered weeds, yet having some positive effects or uses, often being ideal as companion plants in gardens....
  • List of companion plants
    List of companion plants

    This is a list of companion plant relationships. Many more are in list of beneficial weeds.The purpose of this list is to provide plants that assist in the growth of others, be it attracting beneficial insects, repelling harmful insects, providing nutrients or in some cases simply shade / support....


External links