Shepherd's Purse
Capsella busa- pastoris
Also known as Blind Weed, Lady's Purse, Mother's-Heart, Rattle Pouches, Sanguinary, Shepherd's Heart, Shepherd's Scrip, Shepherd's Sprout, Shovelweed, St. James' Weed, Witches' Pouches
$2.50 per ounce
History: Shepherd’s Purse, aptly named for its flower’s unique shape, has been used medicinally since the time of the Greeks and Romans. Dioscorides and Pliny both highlighted the plant as a laxative. Later, the plant was used to stop bleeding and to help wounds heal. In fact, army surgeons used Shepard’s Purse on the Battle field in WWII.
Shepherd's purse is little used in herbalism, though it is a commonly used domestic remedy, being especially efficacious in the treatment of both internal and external bleeding, diarrhoea etc. A tea made from the whole plant is antiscorbutic, astringent, diuretic, emmenagogue, haemostatic, hypotensive, oxytocic, stimulant, vasoconstrictor, vasodilator and vulnerary. A tea made from the dried herb is considered to be a sovereign remedy against haemorrhages of all kinds - the stomach, the lungs, the uterus and more especially the kidneys.