|
 An
Illustrated Guide to
Common Weeds
of New Zealand
Capsella
bursa-pastoris
Shepherd's
purse
Family
BRASSICACEAE
Reproduced from
Common
Weeds of New Zealand
by Ian Popay, Paul Champion & Trevor James
ISBN 0 473 09760 5
by kind permission of the
New
Zealand Plant Protection Society
Publication or other use of images or descriptive
text on these pages is unauthorised unless written permission is
obtained from the authors and publisher.
Appropriate acknowledgement
of the publication Common Weeds of New Zealand must always
be given.
Available from Nationwide Book Distributors
Short-lived annual
forming a flat rosette with very variable, lobed leaves. The flowering
stem grows up to 30 cm tall from the rosette, and has small, white
flowers and the very characteristic heart- or 'purse'-shaped seed
capsules.
- Flowers
White, 2.5-3 mm in diameter, with four small, white, undivided
petals, and four green sepals half the length of the petals. Flowers
on slender, spreading stalks at the top of the flower stem. Flowers
Sep-Jan.
- Fruit
Distinctive heart-shaped capsules, 6-9 mm long, greenish-brown,
on long stalks. Capsules split when ripe into two valves releasing
many tiny pale brown seeds.
- Leaves
Basal rosette leaves deeply lobed to entire, 5-20 cm long, narrowed
towards the stalk. The arrow-shaped and toothed stem leaves have
ear-like projections clasping the stem. The leaves, even on small
seedlings, have scattered, star-shaped hairs, visible with a hand
lens.
- Stems
Erect, thin, branched, 15-30 cm tall.
- Roots
Deep tap-root.
Habitat
Gardens, footpaths,
cultivated land and bare ground.
Distribution
Common throughout
NZ and the offshore islands. Originally from Europe.
Comments
Very common in cultivated
soil everywhere in NZ, more common in winter, but can germinate
and grow at any time of the year if moisture is adequate. The
plants are commonly infected with a white rust fungus. Shepherd's
purse is apparently renowned among herbalists for its ability
to check bleeding.
Derivation
of botanical name
Capsella
(Lat.) = little sachet; bursa-pastoris (Lat.) =
shepherd's purse, referring to the distinctive seed pods.
Web-notes:
Weed Links
On this site
Reproduced from Common Weeds
of New Zealand:
External Links
 Weedbusters
New Zealand
- Weedbusters is a weeds awareness and education programme that aims to
protect New Zealand's environment from the increasing weed problem.
- AgPest
- A free tool to assist farmers and agricultural professionals in decision-making regarding weed and pest identification, biology, impact and management.
 New Zealand Weeds Key
- An interactive identification key to the weeds of New Zealand. Developed at Landcare Research.
New
Zealand Plant Conservation Network naturalised plants
- Search for information on more than 2500 naturalised and weedy plants.
 New
Zealand Plant Protection Society
- Their main objective: "To pool and exchange information on the biology
of weeds, invertebrate and vertebrate pests, pathogens and beneficial organisms
and methods for modifying their effects."
-
 Massey
University Weeds Database- A site providing information about New Zealand weeds and weed control.
It has a series of pages showing pictures of New Zealand weeds, notes on
identification and control. It also provides information on a university
paper entitled Controlling Weeds.
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