shepherd's-purse

American  

[shep-erdz-purs] / ˈʃɛp ərdzˈpɜrs /

noun

1. a European weed, Capsella bursa-pastoris, having white flowers and purselike pods, naturalized in North America.

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shepherd's-purse British  

noun

1. a plant, Capsella bursa-pastoris, having small white flowers and flattened triangular seed pods: family Brassicaceae (crucifers)

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Etymology

Origin of shepherd's-purse

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

Example Sentences

The shepherd's-purse and many other common garden weeds of cultivation are of Eastern origin, and came to us at first with the seed-corn and the peas from the Mediterranean region.

From Falling in Love With Other Essays on More Exact Branches of Science by Allen, Grant

The shepherd’s-purse, already studied, belongs here, and may be taken as a type of the family.

From Elements of Structural and Systematic Botany For High Schools and Elementary College Courses by Campbell, Douglas Houghton

The shepherd’s-purse is an admirable plant for the study of the development of the flower which is much the same in other angiosperms.

From Elements of Structural and Systematic Botany For High Schools and Elementary College Courses by Campbell, Douglas Houghton

At the verge of the ploughed field below, exposed as it is, chickweed, groundsel, and shepherd's-purse are flowering.

From The Open Air by Jefferies, Richard

Fig. 94.—A, cross-section of the stem of the shepherd’s-purse, including a fibro-vascular bundle, × 150. ep. epidermis. m, ground tissue. sh. bundle sheath. ph. phloem. xy. xylem. tr. a vessel.

From Elements of Structural and Systematic Botany For High Schools and Elementary College Courses by Campbell, Douglas Houghton