Fauna
Plant

Shepherd's-purse

Capsella bursa-pastoris

Also known as Lady's Purse, Pickpocket, Mother's Heart, Blindweed

Named for its distinctive purse-like, triangular seed pods, shepherd's-purse thrives in disturbed soils worldwide and blooms across multiple seasons. The plant displays a protocarnivorous adaptation where wetting the tiny seeds triggers a coating of adhesive mucilage that traps soil nematodes, which may release nutrients as they decay. A basal rosette of lobed leaves anchors the stem, which steadily elongates as miniature, four-petaled white flowers mature into seed pouches.

AnnualWildflowerCosmopolitan
Shepherd's-purse reference1 / 7
(c) Joss Carr, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Joss Carr · cc-by
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Not EvaluatedConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXNot Evaluated — not placed on the risk ladderRed List categories, explained →
Key facts
Diet & preySunlight, Soil nutrients, Soil nematodes
Predators
  • Cabbage white caterpillars
  • Cabbage aphids
  • American goldfinches
ThreatsHerbicide application, deep tillage, and habitat paving
HabitatsDisturbed ground, roadsides, cultivated fields, lawns, and waste ground
Life span1 year (annual or winter annual)
Classification
  1. FamilyBrassicaceae
  2. SpeciesCapsella bursa-pastoris
Range & activity
Range data is not available yet.
Safe observation
Interaction riskLow
  1. Low
  2. Moderate
  3. High
  4. Very high
Why interaction risk is low
Safe to observe at a normal distance.
Responsible observation
  • Seed Pods: Look for distinctive triangular, heart-shaped pouches branching along the upper stems.
  • Microscopic Traps: Moisten the tiny seeds on a slide to observe mucilage releasing around them.
  • Rosette Identification: Check base of plant for dandelion-like lobed leaves before flower stems bolt.
Related species
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