Capsella bursa-pastoris

Capsella bursa-pastoris, known asshepherd's pursebecause of its triangular flat fruits, which are purse-like, is a smallannualandruderalflowering plant in the mustard family (Brassicaceae).
Scientists have referred to this species as aprotocarnivore, since it has been found that its seeds attract and killnematodesas 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.
Capsella bursa-pastorisplants grow from arosetteof lobed leaves at the base. From the base emerges a stem most often 10–50 cm (4–20 in) tall, but occasionally as much as 70 cm (28 in) or as little as2 cm (3⁄4in), which bears a few pointed leaves which partly grasp the stem.The flowers, which appear in any month of the year in theBritish Isles,are white and small,2.5 mm (1⁄8in) in diameter, with four petals and six stamens.They are borne in looseracemes, and produce flattened, two-chambered seed pods known as silicles, which are triangular to heart-shaped, each containing several seeds.
Like a number of other plants in several plant families, its seeds contain a substance known asmucilage, a condition known as myxospermy.Recently, this has been demonstrated experimentally to perform the function of trapping nematodes, as a form of 'protocarnivory'.
Capsella bursa-pastorisis closely related to themodel organismArabidopsis thalianaand 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 inA. thaliana. Unlike mostflowering plants, itflowersalmost all year round.Like other annual ruderals exploitingdisturbed ground,C. bursa-pastorisreproduces entirely from seed, has a longsoil seed bank,and shortgeneration time,and is capable of producing several generations each year.
Fumaric acidhas been isolated fromC. bursa-pastoris.
Capsella bursa-pastorisis classified in theCapsellagenus of plants in the familyBrassicaceae. It has twosubspecies,bursa-pastorisandthracicus.
In China, where it is known asjìcài(荠菜;薺菜), the term first appears in the song and poetry collectionShijing(c.1000 – 600 BCE).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.
A very early European illustration ofCapsella bursa-pastoriswas published in a medievalHerbariusin aproximatly 1486. The book was printed inLouvainin what is now Belgium. The species was apparently not included in the ancientpharmacopoeiawithWilliam Turnerstating in 1548 that it and twenty or thirty others had come to be known as medicinal plants from Arab sources.
It was formally described by the Swedish botanistCarl Linnaeusin his seminal publicationSpecies Plantarumin 1753, and then published byFriedrich Kasimir MedikusinPflanzen-Gattungen(Pfl.-Gatt.) in 1792.
William Coleswrote 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."
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'.
It is native to eastern Europe andAsia minor,but is naturalized and considered a common weed in many parts of the world, especially in colder climates,including theBritish Isles,where it is regarded as anarchaeophyte,North Americaand China,but also in theMediterraneanand North Africa.C. bursa-pastorisis the second-most prolific wild plant in the world,and is common on cultivated ground and waysides and meadows.
Pathogens of this plant include:
Capsella bursa-pastorisgathered from the wild or cultivatedhas many uses, including for food,to supplement animal feed,for cosmetics,and in traditional medicine—reportedly to stop bleeding.The plant can be eaten raw;the leaves are best when gathered young.Native Americans ground it into a meal and made a beverage from it.
It is cultivated as a commercial food crop in Asia.In China, where it is known asjìcài(荠菜;薺菜) its use as food has been recorded since theZhou Dynasty. Historically, it was used to makegengsoup,congee, and preserved asyāncài(醃菜). In the Ming-dynasty famine survival guideJiuhuang bencao, it was recommended to mixjìcàiwith water and other ingredients to make bread-likebing.Today, it is commonly used in food inShanghaiand the surroundingJiangnanregion. The savory leaf is stir-fried withnian gao rice cakesand other ingredients or as part of the filling inwontons.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 asnaengi(냉이) and used as a root vegetable in the characteristic Korean dish,namul(fresh greens and wild vegetables).
In a poem in the Shijing, the taste of thejìcàiwas compared to a happy marriage.Its sweet taste is also recorded in theEryalexicon, compiledc.500 – 100 BCE).