Witnessed by: TCM · Western
Shepherd's purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris), of the Brassicaceae family. Small annual with a basal rosette and a slender stalk of tiny white flowers and flat heart-shaped pods; native range: temperate Eurasia, now a cosmopolitan weed of waste ground, fields and paths. Globally recognized as ji cai (薺菜) in Chinese, and lady's purse, mother's heart, pickpocket in English. The part used is whole flowering herb. Faintly cress-like and pungent when fresh, drying to a bland, grassy, mildly astringent herb.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
SHEPHERD'S PURSE
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- Shepherd's purse
- Scientific name
- Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medik.
- Family
- Brassicaceae
Form
- Part used
- whole flowering herb
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- TCM
- sweet · bland
- Western
- astringent · pungent
Temperature
- TCM
- cool
- Western
- cool
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- TCM
- Liver · Stomach · Small Intestine
- Western
- uterus · kidneys · bladder · blood
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- TCM
- cools the blood, stops bleeding, clears the Liver, brightens the eyes and promotes urination
- Western
- astringent, haemostatic, diuretic, uterine tonic
Cautions
Contraindications: pregnancy, on account of its action on the uterus; known kidney stones
Toxicity: very low; a common pot-herb eaten as food
Interactions
- Western
- anticoagulants: haemostatic and vitamin K activity may oppose warfarin · antihypertensives: may add to or interfere with blood-pressure control
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