Capsella (plant)

Ordinary shepherd's purse ( Capsella bursa- pastoris )

Shepherd's purse ( Capsella ), also known as shepherd's purse, is a genus of flowering plants in the family of cruciferous plants ( Brassicaceae).

The botanical name is derived from the Latin capsella for " small bag " from.

Vegetative characteristics

The Capsella species grow as an annual or biennial herbaceous plants. The aboveground plant parts are usually pubescent with seated, forked or stellate hairs ( trichomes ). The upright to ascending stems may be branched. The leaves are distributed in basal rosettes or on the stem.

Generative features

In total racemose inflorescences are doldentraubige partial inflorescences with few flowers. The inflorescence extended to fruit maturity. The hermaphrodite flowers are cruciform with double perianth. There are four sepals present. The four petals are usually white to pink, rarely reddish; they can sometimes miss. There are only four nectar glands present. There are (rarely 12 to ) usually 20-40 ovules per ovary present.

The long -stalked and straddling protruding little pods are heart-shaped. The standing in a row seeds are not winged.

The chromosome number is n = 8

Dissemination

The genus occurs in Europe and the Mediterranean to South Asia, but some species have been abducted by people worldwide and locally naturalized.

Species

There are only three kinds:

• Ordinary shepherd's purse ( Capsella bursa- pastoris (L.) Medik. )
• Capsella grandiflora ( Fauche & Chaub. ) Boiss.
• Reddish shepherd's purse ( Capsella rubella Reut. )

Swell

• Ihsan A. Al - Shehbaz: Capsella in the Flora of North America, Volume 7, page 453: Online.