Participant Info

Species

Capsella bursa-pastoris [Bursa bursa-pastoris] [Thlaspi bursa-pastoris]

Family

Brassicaceae

CommonName

shepherd's purse

Presence

Yes

Status

exotic

EarliestDate

1900

LatestDate

2022

Ecosystem

shrubland, foothill, montane, ruderal, urban

Geobotanical

SSawatch, Garitas, SSanjuans, NCristos

Counties

Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Hinsdale, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache, Archuleta

Passes

La Veta

WildlifePreserves

Baca

Other Localities

Alamosa (town)

PhotoRecords

YES Mary E. McDonald Conejos Co above Magote Cpgd 8 June 2016; Rich Haswell: Rio Grande Co, town of Del Norte, untended yard, 30 May 2021

Comments

Shepherd's purse is not uncommon in the Watershed but scattered spottily all around it in disturbed ground, from shrubland (Baca NWR) to the montane (Moon Pass). There have been collections from the town of Saguache in 1889 and 1976. There are not many counties in the USA that lack record of Capsella bursa-pastoris, a clever and capable plant that blooms early, sometimes three times a year, and whose flowers are already self-pollinated before they open. Its seeds kill the earthworms who are attracted to them and whose decaying bodies add to the nutrition of the soil for the plant.

Annotation