Capsella bursa-pastoris
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant in the mustard family}}
{{Speciesbox
| name=Shepherd's purse
| image = A Field of Shepherd’s-purse.jpg
| image_alt =
| image_caption = Flowering and fruiting
| genus = Capsella (plant)
| species = bursa-pastoris
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision = {{Species list
| C. bursa-pastoris subsp. bursa-pastoris |
| C. bursa-pastoris subsp. thracicus | (Velen.) Stoj. & Stef.
}}
| synonyms = {{Collapsible list | {{Species list
| Bursa bursa-pastoris | (L.) Shafer
| Nasturtium bursa-pastoris | (L.) Roth
| Rodschiedia bursa-pastoris | (L.) G.Gaertn., B.Mey. & Scherb.
| Thlaspi bursa-pastoris | L.
| Thlaspi bursa-pastoris subsp. pinnatifolia | Ehrh.
}}
}}
}}
Capsella bursa-pastoris, known as shepherd's purse or lady's purse{{cite web |title=Capsella bursa-pastoris |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/105534/wd/details |publisher=Royal Horticultural Society |access-date=17 April 2025}} because of its triangular flat fruits, which are purse-like, is a small annual and ruderal flowering plant in the mustard family (Brassicaceae).{{r|parnell2012}}
Scientists have referred to this species as a protocarnivore, since it has been found that its seeds attract and kill nematodes as a means to locally enrich the soil.
It is native to Eurasia but is naturalized and considered a common weed in many parts of the world, especially in colder climates. It has a number of culinary uses.
Description
Image:Capsella bursa-pastoris Sturm23.jpg
Capsella bursa-pastoris plants grow from a rosette of lobed leaves at the base. From the base emerges a stem most often {{convert|10–50|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} tall, but occasionally as much as {{convert|70|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} or as little as {{convert|2|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}}, which bears a few pointed leaves which partly grasp the stem.{{cite web |last1=Al-Shehbaz |first1=Ihsan A. |author-link=Ihsan Ali Al-Shehbaz |title=Capsella bursa-pastoris - FNA |url=http://floranorthamerica.org/Capsella_bursa-pastoris |website=Flora of North America |access-date=9 May 2024 |date=5 November 2020}} The flowers, which appear in any month of the year in the British Isles,{{cite book |last1=Clapham |first1=A.R. |last2=Tutin |first2=T.G. |last3=Warburg |first3=E.F. |date=1981 |title=Excursion Flora of the British Isles |edition=Third |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0521232906 |pages=56}} are white and small, {{convert|2.5|mm|abbr=on|frac=8}} in diameter, with four petals and six stamens. They are borne in loose racemes, and produce flattened, two-chambered seed pods known as silicles, which are triangular to heart-shaped, each containing several seeds.{{cite book |author=Blanchan, Neltje |author-link=Neltje Blanchan |title=Wild Flowers Worth Knowing |title-link=Wild Flowers Worth Knowing |publisher=Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation |year=2005}}
Like a number of other plants in several plant families, its seeds contain a substance known as mucilage, a condition known as myxospermy.{{cite journal |journal=Plant Physiology |date=February 2000 |volume=122 |pages=345–355 |title=Differentiation of Mucilage Secretory Cells of the Arabidopsis Seed Coat |author1=Tamara L. Western |author2=Debra J. Skinner |author3=George W. Haughn |pmc=58872 |doi=10.1104/pp.122.2.345 |pmid=10677428 |issue=2}} Recently, this has been demonstrated experimentally to perform the function of trapping nematodes, as a form of 'protocarnivory'.[https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-28564-x Nature - Evidence for Facultative Protocarnivory in Capsella bursa-pastoris seeds][https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/6727709/Tomatoes-can-eat-insects.html Telegraph - Tomatoes Can Eat Insects]{{cite journal |author=Barber, J.T. |year=1978 |title= Capsella bursa-pastoris seeds: Are they "carnivorous"? |url=http://www.carnivorousplants.org/cpn/articles/CPNv07n2p39_42.pdf |journal=Carnivorous Plant Newsletter |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=39–42 |doi=10.55360/cpn072.jb538 }}
Capsella bursa-pastoris is closely related to the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana and is also used as a model organism, because the variety of genes expressed throughout its life cycle can be compared to genes that have been well studied in A. thaliana. Unlike most flowering plants, it flowers almost all year round.{{cite web |title=Capsella bursa-pastoris |url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200009292 |website=Flora of China}} Like other annual ruderals exploiting disturbed ground, C. bursa-pastoris reproduces entirely from seed, has a long soil seed bank,{{cite book |last1=Preston |first1=CD |title=New Atlas of the British & Irish Flora |last2=Pearman |first2=DA |last3=Dines |first3=TD |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0198510673}} and short generation time,{{cite journal |last1=Aksoy |first1=A |last2=Dixon |first2=JM |last3=Hale |first3=WH |year=1998 |title=Biological flora of the British Isles. Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medikus (Thlaspi bursapastoris L., Bursa bursa-pastoris (L.) Shull, Bursa pastoris (L.) Weber) |journal=Journal of Ecology |volume=86 |pages=171–186 |arxiv=1303.1393 |doi=10.1046/j.1365-2745.1998.00260.x |s2cid=84689066}} and is capable of producing several generations each year.
= Chemistry =
Fumaric acid has been isolated from C. bursa-pastoris.{{r|Kuroda_1976}}
Taxonomy
Capsella bursa-pastoris is classified in the Capsella genus of plants in the family Brassicaceae. It has two subspecies, bursa-pastoris and thracicus.{{cite POWO |id=30092589-2 |title=Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medik. |access-date=29 December 2024}}
=History=
In China, where it is known as jìcài ({{lang|zh-Hans|荠菜}};{{cite book |last1=Larkcom |first1=Joy |title=Oriental Vegetables : The Complete Guide for Garden and Kitchen |date=1991 |location=Tokyo ; New York |publisher=Kodansha International |isbn=978-4-7700-1619-5 |page=214 |url=https://archive.org/details/orientalvegetabl0000lark/page/214 |access-date=29 December 2024}} {{lang|zh-Hant|薺菜}}), the term first appears in the song and poetry collection Shijing ({{circa|1000 – 600 BCE}}).{{cite book |last1=Waley |first1=Arthur |last2=Allen |first2=Joseph Roe |title=The book of songs |date=1996 |publisher=Grove Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8021-3477-6 |pages=xv, 31}} However, these early mentions may not be refereing to Shepherd's purse, but to other plants. While today ji clearly indicates this species, previously it was used for all plants with leaves consumed in soups.{{Cite book |last1=Needham |first1=Joseph |last2=Métailié |first2=Georges |translator-last1=Lloyd |translator-first1=Janet |date=2015 |title=Science and Civilisation in China |url=https://archive.org/details/Science-and-Civilisation-in-China/Vol.6-4%202015%20Biology%20and%20Biological%20Technology%252C%20Traditional%20Botany%20-%20An%20Ethnobotanical%20Approach/page/15 |url-access=registration |language=en |volume=6 Biology and Biological Technology Part IV: Traditional Botany: An Ethnobotanical Approach |location=Cambridge, United Kingdom |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=15 |isbn=978-1-107-10987-2 |access-date=29 December 2024}}
A very early European illustration of Capsella bursa-pastoris was published in a medieval Herbarius in aproximatly 1486. The book was printed in Louvain in what is now Belgium. The species was apparently not included in the ancient pharmacopoeia with William Turner stating in 1548 that it and twenty or thirty others had come to be known as medicinal plants from Arab sources.{{cite book |last=Morton |first=A.G. |date=1981 |title=History of Botanical Science' |pages=96–97, 118, 150 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=0125083823 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofbotanic0000mort/page/96/mode/2up}}
It was formally described by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in his seminal publication Species Plantarum in 1753, and then published by Friedrich Kasimir Medikus in Pflanzen-Gattungen (Pfl.-Gatt.) in 1792.{{cite web|title=Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medik. is an accepted name|url=http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-2697999|date=23 March 2012|publisher=theplantlist.org|access-date=14 December 2017}}{{cite web|title=Brassicaceae Capsella bursa-pastoris Medik|url=http://www.ipni.org/ipni/idPlantNameSearch.do?id=279929-1|publisher=ipni.org|access-date=14 December 2017}}
=Names=
William Coles wrote in his book, Adam in Eden (1657), "It is called Shepherd's purse or Scrip (wallet) from the likeness of the seed hath with that kind of leathearne bag, wherein Shepherds carry their Victualls [food and drink] into the field."{{cite book |year=1981 |title=Reader's Digest Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain |page=54 |publisher=Reader's Digest |isbn=9780276002175}}
In England and Scotland, it was once commonly called 'mother's heart', from which was derived a child's game/trick of picking the seed pod, which then would burst and the child would be accused of 'breaking his mother's heart'.
Distribution and habitat
It is native to eastern Europe and Asia minor, but is naturalized and considered a common weed in many parts of the world, especially in colder climates,{{cite web |title=Capsella bursa-pastoris |url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=200009292 |website=Flora of Pakistan}} including the British Isles,Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg, E.F. 1968. Excursion Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|0-521-04656-4}} where it is regarded as an archaeophyte,{{cite journal |last1=Preston |first1=CD |last2=Pearman |first2=DA |last3=Hall |first3=AR |year=2004 |title=Archaeophytes in Britain |journal=Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=145 |issue=3 |pages=257–294 |doi=10.1111/j.1095-8339.2004.00284.x |doi-access=free}} North America{{cite web |title=Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medik |url=https://plants.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=CABU2 |website=USDA Plants Database}} and China, but also in the Mediterranean and North Africa. C. bursa-pastoris is the second-most prolific wild plant in the world, and is common on cultivated ground and waysides and meadows.
Ecology
Pathogens of this plant include:{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}
- White rust Albugo candida
- One species of downy mildew Hyaloperonospora parasitica
- Phoma herbarumHelgi Hallgrímsson & Guðríður Gyða Eyjólfsdóttir (2004). [https://rafhladan.is/bitstream/handle/10802/4090/Fjolrit_45.pdf?sequence=1 Íslenskt sveppatal I - smásveppir [Checklist of Icelandic Fungi I - Microfungi]. Fjölrit Náttúrufræðistofnunar. Náttúrufræðistofnun Íslands [Icelandic Institute of Natural History]. ISSN 1027-832X
Uses
File:Chopped naengi (Capsella bursa-pastoris).jpg
Capsella bursa-pastoris gathered from the wild or cultivated{{r|fao}}{{r|future}} has many uses, including for food, to supplement animal feed,{{cite web|title=Capsella bursa-pastoris (Ecocrop code 4164)|url=http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/dataSheet?id=4164|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304193735/http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/dataSheet?id=4164|archive-date=2016-03-04|access-date=2008-08-06|website=ecocrop|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations}} for cosmetics, and in traditional medicine—reportedly to stop bleeding. The plant can be eaten raw;{{cite book |last1=Nyerges |first1=Christopher |title=Foraging Wild Edible Plants of North America: More than 150 Delicious Recipes Using Nature's Edibles |date=2016 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4930-1499-6 |page=164 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RwDHCgAAQBAJ}} the leaves are best when gathered young.{{Cite book|last=Benoliel|first=Doug|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/668195076|title=Northwest Foraging: The Classic Guide to Edible Plants of the Pacific Northwest|publisher=Skipstone|year=2011|isbn=978-1-59485-366-1|edition=Rev. and updated|location=Seattle, WA|pages=139|oclc=668195076}} Native Americans ground it into a meal and made a beverage from it.{{Cite book|last=Nyerges|first=Christopher|title=Foraging Washington: Finding, Identifying, and Preparing Edible Wild Foods|publisher=Falcon Guides|year=2017|isbn=978-1-4930-2534-3|location=Guilford, CT|oclc=965922681}}
=Cooking=
It is cultivated as a commercial food crop in Asia.{{cite book |last1=Mills |first1=David |title=Nature's Restaurant: Fields, Forests & Wetlands Foods of Eastern North America - A Complete Wild Food Guide|date=March 11, 2014 |url=http://natures-restaurant-online.com/ShepherdsPurse.html}} In China, where it is known as jìcài ({{lang|zh-Hans|荠菜}}; {{lang|zh-Hant|薺菜}}) its use as food has been recorded since the Zhou Dynasty. Historically, it was used to make geng soup, congee, and preserved as yāncài ({{lang|zh-Hant|醃菜}} ). In the Ming-dynasty famine survival guide Jiuhuang bencao, it was recommended to mix jìcài with water and other ingredients to make bread-like bing.Li, Shizhen (1596). "Bencaogangmu". Cai Part Two [https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%9C%AC%E8%8D%89%E7%B6%B1%E7%9B%AE/%E8%8F%9C%E4%B9%8B%E4%BA%8C#%E8%96%BA] Today, it is commonly used in food in Shanghai and the surrounding Jiangnan region. The savory leaf is stir-fried with nian gao rice cakes and other ingredients or as part of the filling in wontons.{{r|boston}} It is one of the ingredients of the symbolic dish consumed in the Japanese spring-time festival, Nanakusa-no-sekku. In Korea, it is known as naengi ({{lang|ko|냉이}}) and used as a root vegetable in the characteristic Korean dish, namul (fresh greens and wild vegetables).{{cite book |title=Korea: a historical and cultural dictionary |pages=310 |author=Pratt Keith L. |author2=Richard Rutt |author3=James Hoare |isbn=978-0-7007-0464-4 |year=1999 |publisher=Curzon Press |location=Richmond, Surrey.}}
=Culture=
In a poem in the Shijing, the taste of the jìcài was compared to a happy marriage.{{cite book |last1=Legge |first1=James |last2=Zuoqiu |first2=Ming Zuo zhuan |title=The Chinese classics |date=1893 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |page=56 |url=https://archive.org/details/chineseclassics41legg/page/56 |access-date=29 December 2024}} Its sweet taste is also recorded in the Erya lexicon, compiled {{circa|500 – 100 BCE}}).{{Cite web |url=https://ctext.org/er-ya/shi-cao |title=Erya – Ji |author= |date= |website=Chinese Text Project |publisher= |access-date=29 December 2024}}
Nanakusa gayu on Nanakusa no sekku.jpg|Nanakusa-gayu (seven herb congee)
Naengi-doenjang-guk.jpg|Naengi-doenjang-guk (soybean paste soup with shepherd's purse)
Shepherd's purse cod fishballs.jpg|Fish balls made of cod and shepherd's purse
References
{{Reflist|refs=
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External links
- [http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/s/shephe47.html Mrs. M. Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Shepherd's Purse]
- {{Commons-inline}}
{{CarnivorousPlants}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q27264}}
Category:Carnivorous plants of Europe
Category:Medicinal plants of Asia
Category:Medicinal plants of Europe
Category:Plants described in 1753