365 Urban Species. #119: Shepherd's Purse

[urbpan]

Photo by cottonmanifesto

Urban species #119: Shepherd's purse Capsella bursapastoris

I must confess, I don't know what "purses" shepherd carried or perhaps presently carry, or where these purse carrying shepherds live or lived. However it's a fair guess that these were Mediterranean shepherds, as this plant hails from that region. The "purses" are the little triangular or heart-shaped seed pods that the plant bears.

Shepherd's purse is yet another European mustard that has become an urban weed in North America. Shepherd's purse sprouts early in the year, and flowers before most other herby plants. It can grow in poor soil, and can even sprout from cracks in the pavement.

Its uses include edible greens (salad or cooked) of high nutritional value, and edible seeds. The seeds can be eaten raw from the pods or ground into a flour, as apparently some Native Americans did. It seems like gathering shepherd's purse seeds would be fairly labor-intensive, but the plant certainly grows in large enough amounts to make it potentially worth it. Many birds eat the seeds of this weed, and its seeds are sometimes included in birdseed mixes.





(hey, I took that one!)