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Capsella bursa-pastoris
Capsella bursa-pastoris
(L.) Medik.
Family:
Brassicaceae
shepherd's purse,
more...
shepardspurse, shepherd's-purse, shepherdspurse (es: bolsa de pastor, paniquesillo)
[
Bursa bursa-pastoris
(L.) Britt.,
more
Bursa bursa-pastoris var. bifida
Crépin,
Bursa gracilis
Gren.,
Capsella rubella
Reut.,
Thlaspi bursa-pastoris
L.
]
Max Licher
Flora of North America
General Description
Resources
Cruciferae Jussieu, Ihsan A. Al-Shehbaz in Flora of North America (vol. 7)
Plants
mostly sparsely to densely pubescent, trichomes sessile, 3-5-rayed, stellate (base of plant often mixed with much longer, simple ones).
Stems
(0.2-)1-5 (-7) dm.
Basal leaves:
petiole 0.5-4(-6) cm; blade oblong or oblanceolate, (0.5-)1.5-10(-15) cm × 2-25(-50) mm, base cuneate or attenuate, apex acute or acuminate.
Cauline leaves:
blade narrowly oblong, lanceolate, or linear, 1-5.5(-8) cm × 1-15(-20) mm, base sagittate, amplexicaul, or, rarely, auriculate.
Fruiting pedicels
usually straight, (0.3-)0.5-1.5(-2) cm, glabrous.
Flowers:
sepals green or reddish, 1.5-2 × 0.7-1 mm (margins membranous); petals (1.5-)2-4(-5) × 1-1.5 mm; filaments 1-2 mm; anthers to 0.5 mm.
Fruits
(0.3-)0.4-0.9(-1) cm × (2-)3-7(-9) mm, base cuneate, apex emarginate or truncate; valves each with subparallel lateral veins; style 0.2-0.7 mm.
Seeds
brown, 0.9-1.1 × 0.4-0.6 mm.
2
n
= 32. Flowering and fruiting Jan-Oct. Roadsides, gardens, fields, barren gravel, pastures, plantations, lawns, orchards, cultivated ground, waste areas, vineyards, mountain slopes; 0-2800 m; introduced; Greenland; Alta., B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr., N.W.T., N.S., Nunavut, Ont., Que., Sask., Yukon; Ala., Alaska, Ariz., Ark., Calif., Colo., Conn., Del., D.C., Fla., Ga., Idaho, Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Ky., La., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mo., Mont., Nebr., Nev., N.H., N.J., N.Mex., N.Y., N.C., N.Dak., Ohio, Okla., Oreg., Pa., R.I., S.C., S.Dak., Tenn., Tex., Utah, Vt., Va., Wash., W.Va., Wis., Wyo.; Europe; Asia; n Africa; introduced also in Mexico, West Indies, Central America, South America, Atlantic Islands, Pacific Islands, Australia. According to M. Coquillat (1951),
Capsella bursa-pastoris
is the second most common weed on earth, after
Polygonum aviculare
.
Plant
: Annual; hairs simple and stellate; stem erect, 1-5 dm, branched or not
Leaves
: basal rosetted, petioled, 3-6 cm, oblanceolate, subentire to pinnately lobed or dissected; cauline sessile, sagittate, ± clasping stem
INFLORESCENCE
: racemes, many-flowered
Flowers
: bisexual; sepals 4, free; petals (0)4, free, white, distinctly clawed; stamens generally (2,4)6, generally 4 long, 2 short; ovary 1, superior, chambers generally 2, septum membranous, connecting 2 parietal placentas, style 1, stigma simple or 2-lobed
Fruit
: 4-8 mm; pedicel spreading to ascending; Seeds many; wing 0; embryonic root at back of 1 cotyledon
Misc
: Disturbed sites, gardens; < 2300 m.; All year
Notes
: fruit obdeltoid, flattened; petals clawed; pedicels spreading-ascending
References
: J.C. Hickman, ed. The Jepson Manual. W.B. McDougal. Seed plants of Northern Arizona. USDA website.ASU specimens.
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