Shepherd's Purse

Capsella bursa-pastoris

A weedy plant of disturbed places, it forms a rosette of deeply lobed, dandeolion-like leaves from a few inches to almost a foot long. From this bolts a stem, branching periodically, with a few clasping leaves; each stem ends in a head of tiny (1/8 inch) white, four-petaled flowers; the petals are rounded.  After blooming, the flowers form triangular or heart-shaped two-part seed pods.  Though it may grow to 2 feet, the plant is often much shorter.

1-2 feet, sun - partial sun.

Spring-Summer (April-September).

The rosette of pinnate basal leaves.

24 April 2021.

Shepherd's Purse, 24 April 2021.

The flower head with its very small, four-petaled flowers, and the heart-shaped or triangular, bipartite seed pods below.

24 April 2021.