Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medik.

 
  • Family : BRASSICACEAE
    (Mustard Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : SARSON FAMILY (सरसों फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Brassicaceae
  • Basionym : Thlaspi bursa-pastoris L.
  • Synonym(s) : Bursa anglica (E.G.Almq.) Druce; Lepidium bursa-pastoris Willd.; Nasturtium bursa-pastoris (L.) Roth; Opizia bursoides Raf.; Rodschiedia bursa-pastoris (Medik.) G.Gaertn., B.Mey. & Scherb.
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medik.
  • Common name : Shepherd's Purse, Cocowort, Blind weed
  • Vernacular name :
    • Thlaspi, Bursa pastoris (Marathi)
    • Chamtruk (Tangkhul)
    • Chamure Jhaar, Chaalne, Toree Ghaans (Nepali)
    • Chantruk (Manipuri)
  • Habit : Herb
  • Habitat : Roadsides, gardens, fields, waste areas, mountain slopes
  • Comments / notes : This species is used as a vegetable and in the treatment of eye diseases and dysentery. It is the second most common weed on Earth.
  • Key identification features : Herbs, sparsely to densely pubescent with sessile, 3-5-rayed stellate trichomes often mixed near base of plant with much longer simple trichomes; Stems erect, simple or branched; Basal leaves rosulate; leaf blade oblong or oblanceolate, base cuneate or attenuate, margin pinnatisect, pinnatifid, runcinate, lyrate, dentate, repand, or entire, apex acute or acuminate; Cauline leaves sessile, sagittate, amplexicaul, or rarely auriculate, narrowly oblong, lanceolate, or linear, margin entire or dentate; Fruiting pedicels, divaricate, usually straight, slender, glabrous; Sepals green or reddish, oblong, margin membranous; Petals white, rarely pinkish or yellowish, obovate; Filaments white; anthers ovate; Fruit flat, base cuneate, apex emarginate or truncate; valves with subparallel lateral veins, glabrous; Seeds brown, oblong.
  • Flower, Fruit : March-October
  • Distribution :
    • Kerala : Idukki district
    • Maharashtra : Satara district
    • Tamil Nadu : Madurai district, The Nilgiri district
    • Uttarakhand : Dehradun district
    • Sikkim : Sikkim
    • Himachal Pradesh : Chamba district, Kangra district, Kinnaur district, Kullu district, Lahaul & Spiti district, Shimla district
    • Arunachal Pradesh : Arunachal Pradesh
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
    • Jammu and Kashmir : Jammu and Kashmir
  • Native : Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Altay, Amur, Austria, Baleares, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bhutan, Bulgaria, Buryatiya, Central European Russia, China, Chita, Corse, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, East Aegean Islands, East European Russia, Egypt, F
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : Naturalized elsewhere as a cosmopolitan weed
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI
    • Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1
    • N.P. Sing & S. Karthikeyan 2000. Flora of Maharashtra vol 1. Botanical survey of India, Govt. India
    • Nair, N. G (1977).Flora of Bashahr Himalayas. International Bioscience Publishers: 26
  • Read more :
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2024). India Flora Online. http://indiafloraonline-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Capsella bursa-pastoris. Downloaded on 1 April 2025.

Field Image(s)

India Distribution

World Distribution

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