Shepherd's Purse
Capsella bursa-pastoris

The heart-shaped fruits of this plant resemble the purses that people used to hang from their belts in the Middle Ages from which common names arose such as Witch's pouches, pickpocket, pepper and salt and mother's heart. This plant is an annual or biennial herb growing up to 60cm in height, and flowers from March until November in gardens, fields and on waste ground and in hedgerows. During the First World War, when the standard haemostatic herbs Hydrastis and Claviceps were unobtainable in Britain, Shepherd's Purse was used as an alternative.