Annual or biennial herb, 20-50cm tall. The stem is erect, branched, slightly branched or simply hairy.

The basal leaves are clustered, rosette-shaped, with long petioles, reaching 5-40mm; the large heads of the leaves are pinnately split, up to 12cm long and 2.5cm wide, and the terminal lobes are larger and oval. to long oval, 5-30mm long, lateral ones 2-20mm wide, with 3-8 pairs of lobes, small, narrow, round to ovate, apex acuminate, lobed or irregularly serrated;

The stem leaves are narrowly lanceolate, 1-2cm long, 2-15mm wide, with an arrow-shaped base holding the stem, notched or serrated edges, and fine hairs or hairless on both sides. The racemes are terminal or axillary, and the fruit period extends up to 20cm; the sepals are oblong; the petals are white, spatulate or ovate, 2-3mm long, with short claws.

My childhood was spent in the vast fields of Jiangnan, which was my activity room. This activity room is something that children in today’s kindergartens cannot imagine. It's an exciting world, full of endless fun. Whether it’s spring, summer, autumn or winter, there are many things out there that excite me, including shepherd’s purse.

The main reason for excitement is not her delicious taste, but the process of finding her.

Shepherd's purse is fickle, not only changing its color, but also its shape. It grows in places where there are not many weeds. It crawls on the ground. Its leaves are serrated, and sometimes the serrated teeth are very large. The whole leaf looks like many slender leaves growing from the stem in the middle of the leaf. And the color is very dark, gray-purple, and you can't find it unless you look carefully.

If it grows in a spinach field, it will grow upwards. The leaves have almost no teeth and are green in color, very similar to spinach. If there is some light, gray-green grass around, it is neither crawling nor standing tall, and its color will become gray-green. The leaves have shallow teeth, just like the surrounding grass, with a thin layer of leaves on the surface. The fluff of the grass is mixed with picking weeds. So, every time you find one, it’s a victory.

Sometimes, I didn’t notice it the first time, but I was a little confused. When I turned around, I suddenly found a fat guy lying there. At this time, you will feel that the heart in your chest is beating with excitement. It doesn't feel like working, but like hide and seek, even more fun than hide and seek. Who wouldn't want to? When I was five or six years old, if I were asked to guard the rice drying on the field and drive away the sparrows and chickens, I would not be willing to do it. It would be too boring

If my mother said: "Haidu, go pick some shepherd's purse." Come, let’s make dumplings for dinner.” I was so happy that I took the basket and left happily.

It’s March fireworks again and shepherd’s purse is blooming. I don’t know if the children in Jiangnan can still recognize shepherd’s purse, and I don’t know if there are still women and children picking shepherd’s purse in the fields awakened by the spring rain.