Shepherd’s purse flowers are different from shepherd’s purse.

Shepherd's purse flower is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine. It is a plant of the Brassicaceae family and is distributed or cultivated throughout the country. The raceme axis of shepherd's purse flower is thin, fresh magenta, and dried yellow-green; the small peduncle is slender and easy to break; the flower is small, about 2.5mm in diameter, with 4 petals, white or light yellowish brown; there are often small inflorescences at the lower part of the inflorescence axis Triangular siliques, green or yellow-green, 5-8mm long and 4-6mm wide. The smell is slightly fragrant and light in taste.

Capsella bursa (scientific name: Capsellabursa-pastoris (Linn.) Medic.) is an annual or biennial herbaceous plant of the Brassicaceae family. It can reach a height of 50 cm. The stems are upright, and the basal leaves are clustered in a rosette shape. The petiole 5-40 mm long, stem leaves narrow-lanceolate or lanceolate, racemes terminal and axillary, sepals oblong, petals white, flowering and fruiting period from April to June.

Shepherd's purse grows on hillsides, fields and roadsides, wild and occasionally cultivated. It is distributed in all provinces and regions in China and is widely distributed in temperate regions around the world.