Shepherd's Purse
(Capsella bursa-pastoris)
Annual Broadleaves
Habitat Characteristics
Weed of cultivated crops, including nursery, agronomic, and vegetable crops. Shepherd's purse does best in sunny, moist to dry, rich, disturbed soil. It will also grow in partly shaded, extremely poor soils.
Identification
This annual weed produces an early basal rosette of hairy leaves with lobed, toothed, or smooth edges. Older leaves are deeply toothed or lobed and are dark green to silvery gray, sometimes with a hint of purple. Upright stems emerging from the rosette hold small, inconspicuous, white flowers. Seed pods are triangular to heart-shaped and 2-parted. Unopened flowers are often seen on the same plant as mature seed pods. The flowers near the bottom mature first. The taproot is slender and often branched with secondary fibrous roots.
Life History
Reproduction is by seed. Seeds germinate in late summer, early autumn, or early spring. Flowering stems are produced in the same year as germination or sometimes the following year. Flowers are produced from spring to early summer and sporadically in late autumn. Plants die after fruiting in late spring or early summer.
Management
Cultural Techniques
- Cultivation and handpulling will eliminate plants
Chemical Techniques
- See weed-herbicide matrix for effective and available herbicides.
Web References
USDA – NRCS Plant Profile, Shepherd’s Purse
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CABU2&photoID=cabu2_003_avp.tif
University of California IPM, Weed Gallery, Shepherd’s Purse
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/WEEDS/shepherdspurse.html
Invasive Species, The Source for Information and Images of Invasive & Exotic Species, Shepherd’s Purse
http://www.invasive.org/browse/subject.cfm?sub=5222
B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Shepherd’s Purse
http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/weedguid/shepherd.htm
Weeds B.C., Shepherd’s Purse
http://www.weedsbc.ca/weed_desc/shep_purse.html
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