Capsella bursa-pastoris, Sheperd's Purse, Mother's heart,
Hebrew: ילקוט הרועים, Arabic: كيس الراعي, Egypt: كيس الراعي "Keis El-Ra'ai"

Scientific name:  Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medicus
Basionym:  Thlaspi bursa-pastoris Linnaeus 1753
Common name:  Sheperd's Purse, Mother's heart
Hebrew name:  ילקוט הרועים
Arabic name:  كيس الراعي
Egypt:  كيس الراعي "Keis El-Ra'ai"
Plant Family:  Cruciferae / Brassicaceae, מצליבים

Israel Flowers (פרחים וצמחי בר)

Life form:  Annual
Life form:  To +50cm tall, herbaceous, erect, stellate pubescent, simple or branching, with a fairly large taproot
Leaves:  Alternate,rosette, entire, dentate or serrate
Flowers:  White, a terminal raceme to +25cm long; flower stems spreading, 1-2cm; corolla 3-4mm broad; 4 white petals, 6 stamens, attached at base of ovary; 1 very short style; 4 sepals, free, green, glabrous, oblong
Fruits / Pods:  Obcordate (heart-shaped with apex in a downward direction) silique to +3mm long
Flowering Period:  January, February, March, April, May, November, December
Habitat:   Batha, Phrygana, Disturbed habitats
Distribution:  Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:  Pluriregional
Summer shedding:  Ephemeral

Capsella bursa-pastoris, Sheperd's Purse,Mother's heart, ילקוט הרועים


Derivation of the botanical name:
Capsella, Latin, little box, a small box, small coffer.
bursapastoris, Late Latin, bursa, βυρσα, purse; pastor, a herdsman, shepard; sheperd's purse.
  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.
  • The standard author abbreviation Medik. is used to indicate Friedrich Kasimir Medikus (1736–1808), a German physician and botanist.

Flora of Palestine online, Native plants, Israel