|
 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 Bruce Roy, Ian Popay, Paul Champion, Trevor James & Anis
Rahman
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 Manaaki-Whenua
Press and Touchwood
Books
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.
 New
Zealand Plant Conservation Network Weeds Fact Sheets
- Search for 1500 weed fact sheets mainly derived from the Department of
Conservation's BIOWEB weeds database.
 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."
-
 New
Zealand Landcare Trust
- Plant Pest information including Pictures, Distribution Maps, References,
Environmental Effects and Control.
-
- New
Zealand Aquatic Weeds
- Hosted by the weed management group of NIWA (National Institute of Water
and Atmospheric Research).
-
- Weed
Control Manual for the Bay of Plenty
- Weeds information compiled by Environment Bay of Plenty.
-
 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.
-
- Canterbury
Weed Guide
- A weed identification guide prepared by the Christchurch City Council.
-
- Australian
Plants as Weeds
- Part of the Association of Societies for Growing Australian Plants website.
- Department
of Agriculture Western Australia
- Collection of weed resources from the Department of Agriculture, Government
of Western Australia
- Weed
Society of Victoria
- Promoting wider awareness and interest in weeds and their management.
Includes a useful page of links
to other weed societies.
-
- Tamar
Valley Weeds Strategy
- Listing of common and botanical names, images, and information including
control methods for weeds found in Tasmania, and also on the Australian
mainland.
-
-
- New
Jersey Weed Gallery, USA
- Listing of common and botanical names and images, plus a small amount
of information for weeds that cause problems in the USA.
- Invasive
and Exotic Species of North America
- Images and other information from the University of Georgia.
- University
of California
- Weed Photo Gallery, with common and botanical names.
-
- World
of Weeds
- Weed-related resources including weed science, practical tools, gardening
tips about controlling weeds, and environmental news updates.
-
- Invasive
Species Specialist Group
- "The ISSG aims to reduce threats to natural ecosystems and the native
species they contain by increasing awareness of invasive alien species,
and of ways to prevent, control or eradicate them."
-
- Invasive
Woody Plants
- Collection of research and associated literature for invasive woody plants
in the tropics and the temperate zone.
-
- WeedScience.com
- Site that includes a comprehensive collection of weed images from around
the world.
-
-
 Books
on Weeds from FetchBook.Info
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