Shepherd's Purse

Another one of those useful weeds, although I had to help this one along here. Our first summer I broadcast a packet of seed all over. It apparently was happy with the accommodations and decided to stay and multiply. Which is good!


Shepherd's Purse, botanical name Capsella bursa-pastoris. The seedpods make identification fairly easy.

I use the whole, fresh plant and make an alcohol tincture from it. Some sources say it can be dried and some say it loses it's oomph quickly when dried. Even the tincture has a pretty short shelf life, a year or less, so I make fresh every year. It's main use seems to be hemorrhage, specifically for the uterus. That's how I generally use it. I used it on myself after my stillbirth as I was bleeding more than I was comfortable with. It worked very well there. I have also used it if I have too much bleeding when castrating, as can sometimes happen with older animals. It also works well in that application. It's one of those plants that doesn't seem to have a wide range of uses and doesn't get used a lot, but comes in very handy when needed.

The basal leaves of Shepherd's Purse

Some Shepherd's Purse in with a mess of other weeds.