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Capsella bursa-pastoris
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Capsella bursa-pastoris
Capsella bursa-pastoris, commonly known as shepherd's purse or lady's purse, is a small flowering plant in the mustard family. It has been described as a protocarnivore because its seeds contain mucilage, which traps nematodes.
The plant is native to Eurasia but is naturalized and considered a common weed in many parts of the world, especially in colder climates. It has a number of culinary uses.
Capsella bursa-pastoris is a ruderal and an annual or biennial plant. It grows from a rosette of lobed leaves at the base. From the base emerges a stem most often 10–50 cm (4–20 in) tall, but occasionally as much as 70 cm (28 in) or as little as 2 cm (3⁄4 in), which bears a few pointed leaves partly grasping the stem, each up to 6.5 cm (2+1⁄2 in) long.
The flowers, which appear in any month of the year in the British Isles, are white and small, 2.5 mm (1⁄8 in) in diameter, with four petals and six stamens. They are borne in loose racemes, and produce flattened, two-chambered seed pods known as silicles, which are about 6 mm long and triangular to heart-shaped, each containing several seeds.
Like a number of other plants in several plant families, its seeds contain a substance known as mucilage, a condition known as myxospermy. Recently, this has been demonstrated experimentally to perform the function of trapping nematodes, as a form of 'protocarnivory'.
Capsella bursa-pastoris is closely related to the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana and is also used as a model organism, because the variety of genes expressed throughout its life cycle can be compared to genes that have been well studied in A. thaliana. Unlike most flowering plants, it flowers almost all year round. Like other annual ruderals exploiting disturbed ground, C. bursa-pastoris reproduces entirely from seed, has a long soil seed bank and short generation time; it is capable of producing several generations each year.
Fumaric acid has been isolated from the plant.
Capsella bursa-pastoris is classified in the Capsella genus of plants in the family Brassicaceae. It has two subspecies, bursa-pastoris and thracicus.
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Capsella bursa-pastoris
Capsella bursa-pastoris, commonly known as shepherd's purse or lady's purse, is a small flowering plant in the mustard family. It has been described as a protocarnivore because its seeds contain mucilage, which traps nematodes.
The plant is native to Eurasia but is naturalized and considered a common weed in many parts of the world, especially in colder climates. It has a number of culinary uses.
Capsella bursa-pastoris is a ruderal and an annual or biennial plant. It grows from a rosette of lobed leaves at the base. From the base emerges a stem most often 10–50 cm (4–20 in) tall, but occasionally as much as 70 cm (28 in) or as little as 2 cm (3⁄4 in), which bears a few pointed leaves partly grasping the stem, each up to 6.5 cm (2+1⁄2 in) long.
The flowers, which appear in any month of the year in the British Isles, are white and small, 2.5 mm (1⁄8 in) in diameter, with four petals and six stamens. They are borne in loose racemes, and produce flattened, two-chambered seed pods known as silicles, which are about 6 mm long and triangular to heart-shaped, each containing several seeds.
Like a number of other plants in several plant families, its seeds contain a substance known as mucilage, a condition known as myxospermy. Recently, this has been demonstrated experimentally to perform the function of trapping nematodes, as a form of 'protocarnivory'.
Capsella bursa-pastoris is closely related to the model organism Arabidopsis thaliana and is also used as a model organism, because the variety of genes expressed throughout its life cycle can be compared to genes that have been well studied in A. thaliana. Unlike most flowering plants, it flowers almost all year round. Like other annual ruderals exploiting disturbed ground, C. bursa-pastoris reproduces entirely from seed, has a long soil seed bank and short generation time; it is capable of producing several generations each year.
Fumaric acid has been isolated from the plant.
Capsella bursa-pastoris is classified in the Capsella genus of plants in the family Brassicaceae. It has two subspecies, bursa-pastoris and thracicus.
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