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Shepherds Purse

[Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medicus]

Brassicaceae (Mustard Family)

mature plant

flowers and fruit

Shepherd’s Purse: (pp. 200-201 in Weeds of the Great Plains; pp. 172-173, Weeds of the Northeast)

·         a cool-season annual, with deeply lobed leaves in a basal rosette

·         inflorescence grows 1-1.5' tall, with small white flowers followed by heart-shaped seed pods; can flower almost  year-round

·         seeds very long-lived in the soil

·         common in cool-season annual crops, gardens, landscapes, roadsides, almost any disturbed site around the world

 

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