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Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medic
1315 (1). C. bursa-pastoris (L.) Medic., Pflanzengatt. (1792) 85; Hayek, Prodr. Fl. Penins. Balc. I (1925) 48 I; Thlaspi bursa-pastoris L., Sp. PL ed. 1 (1753) 647 — Обикновена овчарска торбичка

Fam: Cruciferae Juss. (Brassicaceae)
Genus: Capsella Medic
Species: Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medic
English Name: Shepherd's purse

Description:

Biennial to annual. The root is spindle-shaped. Stems 5 - 60 cm tall, erect, usually single, simple or branched, glabrous or slightly fibrous, leafy or at the top without leaves, with or without rosette leaves. Leaves bare or slightly fibrous. Rosette leaves back lance, at the base narrowed into a petiole, undivided, entire, slightly serrated, cut or feathery-like incised; stems oblong, entire, serrated or incised, basically sagittal, sessile, often covering the stem, uppermost lance or linear. Inflorescences in fruits greatly elongated. Sepals 1 - 2 mm long, ovate or lance, erect, spreading, with a white, tapered margin. Petals 2.5 - 3 mm long, ovate back, rounded at the apex, concave, white, often absent. Stamens 6 - 10. The pods 6 - 9 mm long and 3 - 9 mm wide, triangularly ovate, clearly narrowed to the base and slightly incised at the apex, with flat edges; caps 7 - 17 mm long, straight or slightly convex, straight or horizontally spaced; the style 0.2 -1 mm long. Seeds numerous, pale brown.

Variability

1   Slightly and usually at its lowest, hairy or almost bare plants. Pods 6 - 9 mm long and 4 - 9 mm wide, barely drained at the base, slightly incised at the apex. The style 0.2 - 0.5mm .......... subsp. bursa-pastorfs. Distributed ........................................................................................... 2
1* Soft, short fibrous at the bottom, bare plant at the top. The pods 6 - 9 mm long, 4 mm wide, at the base clearly drained, at the apex deeply incised. Pillar, that 0.5 - 1 mm long .......... subsp. thracica (Vel.) Stoj. et Stef., Fl. Bulgarian. ed. 3 (1948) 513; C. thracica Vel., Sitzungsber, Bohra. Ges. Wiss. XXXVII (1893) 11; C. bursa-pastoris var. thracica (Vel.) Stoj. et Stef., Фл. Бълг.. изд. 1, I (1924) 511. Thracian Plain (Plovdiv, Karlovo).
2   Petals are missing. Stamens 8 - 10 ......... var. appetala Schlecht., Fl. Berol. I (1823) 345. Pre-Balkan (Pavlikeni region). It is indicated for the Thracian Plain (Karlovo - Urum.)
2* Petals developed. Stamens 6 ................................................................... ............................................................................................. 3
3 Stems up to 5 cm high, leafless or with very small lance leaves, assembled in a primary rosette var. minor DC., Reg. Veg. Syst. Nat. II (1822) 384; C. bursa-pastoris var. parvula Beck, Fl. Nied. Österr. II (1892) 492; Stoyan. Stef., Фл. Бълг.. изд.. 1, I (1924) 511. In dry places. Distributed.
3* Stems higher than 5 cm, leafed with normal stems and base leaves …………......................................................................………….... 4
4   Rosette leaves deeply serrated to cut or feathery-like cut ....................................................................................................................... 5
4* All leaves not separated, entire, sometimes slightly serrated or incised ............... var. Integrifolia (DC.) Stoj. et Stef., ed. 1.1 (1924) 510; C. integrifolia DC., Reg. Veg. Syst. Nat. II (1822) 354.
5   Basal leaves more or less deeply serrated, with triangular curved teeth ................... var. bursa-pastorfs ................................................. 6
5* Basal leaves feathery-like incised, oblong, triangular, often with serrated shares. Stem leaves entire or toothed ........................................... ........................................................................................................................................... Var. pinnatifida Schlecht, Fl. Bertol. (1823) 345.
6   Basal leaves incised. Black Sea Coast (Varna) ............... f. sinuata (Schlecht.), Välev st. n .; var. sinuata Schlecht., Fl. Fl. Bertol. (1823) 345.
6* Main leaves serrated ……....................................................................…… f. bursa-pastoris. Distributed. Eastern Stara Planina (Sliven).

From:   „Флора на НР България”, том IV, БАН, София, (1970)

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Capsella bursa-pastoris, known as shepherd's purse because of its triangular flat fruits, which are purse-like, is a small annual and ruderal flowering plant in the mustard family (Brassicaceae).[3] It is native to eastern Europe and Asia minor,[4] but is naturalized and considered a common weed in many parts of the world, especially in colder climates,[5] including British Isles,[6] where it is regarded as an archaeophyte,[7][8] North America [9][10] and China,[11] but also in the Mediterranean and North Africa.[4] C. bursa-pastoris is the second-most prolific wild plant in the world,[11] and is common on cultivated ground and waysides and meadows.[12]
Scientists have referred to this species as a 'protocarnivore', since it has been found that its seeds attract and kill nematodes as a means to locally enrich the soil.[13][14]

Description

Capsella bursa-pastoris plants grow from a rosette of lobed leaves at the base. From the base emerges a stem about 0.2–0.5 m (0.66–1.64 ft) tall, which bears a few pointed leaves which partly grasp the stem. The flowers, which appear in any month of the year in the British Isles,[12]:56 are white and small, 2.5 mm (0.098 in) in diameter, with four petals and six stamens.[12] They are borne in loose racemes, and produce flattened, two-chambered seed pods known as siliques, which are triangular to heart-shaped, each containing several seeds.[10]
Like a number of other plants in several plant families, its seeds contain a substance known as mucilage, a condition known as myxospermy.[15] Recently, this has been demonstrated experimentally to perform the function of trapping nematodes, as a form of 'protocarnivory'[16][17][18]
Capsella bursa-pastoris is closely related to the model organism such as Arabidopsis thaliana and is also used as a model organism, due to the variety of genes expressed throughout its life cycle that can be compared to genes that are well studied in A. thaliana. Unlike most flowering plants, it flowers almost all year round.[10][11] Like other annual ruderals exploiting disturbed ground, C. bursa-pastoris reproduces entirely from seed, has a long soil seed bank,[7] and short generation time,[4] and is capable of producing several generations each year.

Taxonomy

It was formally described by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in his seminal publication 'Species Plantarum' in 1753, and then published by Friedrich Kasimir Medikus in Pflanzen-Gattungen (Pfl.-Gatt.) on page 85 in 1792.[2][19]
Capsella bursa-pastoris subsp. thracicus (Velen.) Stoj. & Stef. is the only known subspecies.[2]
William Coles (botanist) wrote in his book, 'Adam in Eden' (published in 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.""[20]
In England and Scotland, it was once commonly called 'mother's heart', which is derived from 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'.[20]

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Flowering Time: Blooms: IV - VIII.

Distribution in Bulgaria: Growing along the roads and buildings, the dumps, the deserted places, the pastures and the meadows. Distributed, up to 2000 altitude. (Conspectus of the Bulgarian Vascular Flora) = conspectus&gs_l= Zlc.

Distribution: Cosmopolitan *

Conservation status and threats: not protected species in Bulgaria by the Biodiversity Law. - Biological Diversity Act - http://eea.government.bg/bg/legislation/biodiversity/zbran_22.08.15.pdf

Medical plant: yes, it is medical plant - Medicinal Plants Act - http://eea.government.bg/bg/legislation/biodiversity/ZLR_en.pdf

References: „Флора на НР България”, том IV, БАН, София, (1970), Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1. 2. 3. 4.

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