MUSTARD FAMILY CRUCIFERAE 
SHEPHERD’S PURSE 
Capsella Bursa-pastoris (L.) Medic. 
The Shepherd’s Purse is one of our commonest flowering 
plants, probably second in this respect only to the Dandelion. 
It is a native of Europe but is now widely distributed over 
nearly all parts of the earth 
inhabited by man. In Illinois 
it is common everywhere along 
roads and streets and about 
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i i 4 dwellings, as well as in fields 
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and waste places. 
y) This annual starts early 
) and blooms throughout the 
season from April to late 
autumn. The branching stem 
grows 6-20 inches high from a 
long deep root. It is usually 
hairy near the base but smooth 
above. The basal leaves, 
2-5 inches long, are more or 
less lobed and form a large 
rosette. The stem leaves are 
relatively few and often nearly 
entire, but usually with earlike 
appendages at the base. 
Flowers are white and have 
the usual structure for the 
family: 4 sepals, 4 petals, 6 
stamens with 2 shorter, and 1 
pistil. The triangular or purse- 
shaped pods have 2 cells con- 
taining 10-12 seeds each. The 
seeds have no special means 
of dissemination but since 50,000 of them are not uncommonly 
produced by a single plant there is great probability that some 
will be widely scattered. 
Because these plants are extremely variable in size, foliage, 
inflorescence and shape of the pod, many species have been 
proposed in place of this single name. Sixty-three subdivisions 
have been suggested by one investigator alone. 
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