White rust survey
Looking for and collecting plants infected by the white rust around the world.
Capsella bursa-pastoris - Shepherd's purse
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Growing form: Annual herb.
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Height: 10–40 cm (4–16 in.). Stem glabrous–sparsely haired.
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Flower: Corolla regular (actinomorphic), white, under 0.5 cm (0.2 in.) wide (sometimes lacking); petals 4, round-tipped, approx. 2.5 mm (0.1 in.) long; sepals 4; stamens usually 6, sometimes up to 10 (in which case petals have become stamens); gynoecium fused, a single carpel; inflorescence a raceme, extending in fruiting stage.
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Leaves: Basal rosette and alternate on stem, rosette leaves short-stalked, stem leaves stalkless, amplexicaul. Rosette leaf-blades usually pinnately lobed, sometimes curved or entire, stem leaves with toothed margins–entire, with sagittate base and tapering tip.
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Fruit: Many-seeded, triangular, broadening towards tip, with clearly notched tips, wingless, 6–9 mm long pod. Pod-stalk approx. 10 mm (0.4 in.), spreading.
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Habitat: Yards, gardens, roadsides, paths, fields, waste ground, islets.
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Flowering time: May–October.
© Agathe Jouet, PhD student, The Sainsbury Lab, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK.