Shepherd's purse flowers are the small white flowers that shepherd's purse produces in spring: characteristics and uses

Shepherd's purse flowers are the flowers that shepherd's purse, a plant of the genus Capsella in the mustard family (Brassicaceae), produces in spring. Shepherd's purse is a common wild herb that mostly grows on field ridges, roadsides, in vegetable plots and on wasteland, and it can be seen almost everywhere across the country. Every year in early spring, shepherd's purse sends up flower stems from the base, and then successively opens tiny white flowers; the flowering period generally lasts until late spring.

In appearance, shepherd's purse flowers are very small, usually with four petals arranged in a cross shape, which is also a typical feature of plants in the mustard family. Many small flowers open one after another from bottom to top along the flower stem, forming a raceme. After the flowers fade, they produce flat, short silicles that are inverted-triangular or heart-shaped, one of the most intuitive signs for identifying shepherd's purse.

Shepherd's purse flowers have many uses in folk tradition. In some regions, there is a custom on the third day of the third lunar month of boiling eggs with shepherd's purse flowers, symbolizing a prayer for health and peace. In traditional Chinese medicine, shepherd's purse and shepherd's purse flowers are considered cool in nature, and people often dry them and use them to steep in water or combine with ingredients as food, mostly for everyday dietary therapy.

There are many wildflowers in spring fields, and shepherd's purse flowers are easily confused with weeds such as dandelion. When distinguishing them, pay attention to flower color and fruit: shepherd's purse flowers are small white four-petaled flowers and produce inverted-triangular silicles, while dandelion bears yellow flower heads and exudes white milky sap when its stems and leaves are broken. In addition, note that after shepherd's purse flowers, its stems and leaves gradually age and become more fibrous; if the goal is to eat the tender leaves, they should be harvested before flowering.