Capsella bursa-pastoris Seeds | Shepherd Purse Bursa Pastoris
LATIN NAME: Capsella bursa-pastoris
COMMON NAME: Shepherd’s Purse
Plant Profile
Capsella bursa-pastoris, better known as Shepherd’s Purse, is an annual in the mustard family, native to Europe and western Asia, while it now grows in waysides and fields of many lands of the world. Its appeal to pollinating insects adds a second, ecological layer to its ornamental one. It is the sort of plant that quietly justifies the space it occupies.
Science & Biotechnology
Like other members of the mustard family, Capsella bursa-pastoris draws steady attention from botanists and plant breeders, who value the genus both as a subject of research and as a source of garden-worthy material. Shepherds purse has a real and distinguished place in the research. A long cultivation history means growers know what to expect from it.
Uses & Benefits
In the garden, Shepherd’s Purse earns its place in borders, containers and mixed plantings, and it also rewards growers who raise plants for cutting, drying or kitchen use. Ecologically, shepherds purse is a generous plant of the garden. Its fine, upright spikes of many small, white flowers feed bees and many insects, and its fine, low, leafy rosette gives a neat, green presence to wild garden and the wayside. In later seasons it demands little more than an appreciative eye.
Shepherd’s purse is a classic European styptic herb, traditionally used to slow bleeding and officially listed in several pharmacopoeias; the young leaves and seeds are also a potherb and condiment in East Asia.
Growing from Seed
Raising Shepherd’s Purse from seed is straightforward. Sow the seeds evenly over the surface and cover lightly in a loose, well-drained seed compost, keep the sowing evenly moist, and give the pot or tray bright light. Once the seedlings have made true leaves, pot them on individually and plant out when they are sturdy and conditions are right.
Our Take
It forms an annual, which makes spacing and siting straightforward. Once established, Shepherd’s Purse largely looks after itself. Beginners will find it patient of imperfect technique.
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