Archival plate of Capsella bursa-pastoris, from Flora Batava, vol. 2

The Moss Herbal Database

Capsella bursa-pastoris
Fam. Brassicaceae
Parts: Aerial parts, fresh or freshly dried

Shepherd's purse

Capsella bursa-pastoris

Also: Shepherd's bag, Pickpocket, Mother's heart

CoolingDryingTonifying

Slows bleeding from the uterus and the nose.

A small, common mustard with a flat rosette of jagged leaves and wiry stems hung with little heart-shaped seed pods. Shepherd's purse tightens blood vessels and slows bleeding, from heavy periods to nosebleeds to small cuts.

Energetics: Cooling, drying, toning
Taste: Pungent, bitter, peppery
Family: Brassicaceae (mustard family)
Parts used: Aerial parts, fresh or freshly dried

Medicinal uses 3

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Traditional useLab and mechanism studiesClinical studies

Heavy or irregular periodsTLC
Slows heavy menstrual bleeding, often with yarrow or lady's mantle.
Cuts, scrapes & bleedingTLC
Stops nosebleeds and slow-bleeding cuts, inside and on the skin.
Postpartum recoveryTLC
Midwives use it right after birth to help slow bleeding, alongside their care.

Preparations

Fresh-plant tincture and tea through heavy days, and pads for nosebleeds.

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Cautions

It loses strength quickly as it dries; use fresh tincture or freshly dried herb.
Heavy bleeding that soaks a pad an hour, or any bleeding after birth that worries you, needs your midwife or doctor right away.
It may work against blood thinners; tell your prescriber.

Medication interactions

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Pregnancy & breastfeeding

PregnancyAvoid

Shepherd's purse strongly stimulates the uterus and is contraindicated in pregnancy. Its use right after birth belongs with your midwife.

BreastfeedingPostpartum with your midwife

Midwives give it in the days after birth to slow bleeding. Beyond that use, nursing safety data are thin.

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Folklore

The name comes from its seed pods, shaped like the leather purses shepherds hung from their belts. During the First World War, when supplies of ergot were cut off, it was pressed into service to stop bleeding. Its wet seeds give off a sticky coat that traps mosquito larvae and tiny soil worms in lab studies, which has led some botanists to call it a part-time carnivore.

How to grow

An annual that volunteers in gardens and cracks in pavement, flowering almost year-round. Gather it in flower and green pod and tincture it fresh.

In the wild

One of the most widespread plants on Earth: gardens, fields, roadsides, and waste ground on every continent but Antarctica.

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