''Capsella'' is a genus of herbaceous

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...

and

biennial Biennial means (an event) lasting for two years or occurring every two years. The related term biennium is used in reference to a period of two years. In particular, it can refer to: * Biennial plant, a plant which blooms in its second year and th ...

plants in the family

Brassicaceae Brassicaceae () or (the older) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The leav ...

. It is a close relative of '' Arabidopsis'', ''

Neslia ''Neslia'' is a monotypic plant genus in the family Brassicaceae. The only extant species is ''Neslia paniculata'' Neslia paniculata ''Neslia paniculata'' (commonly called ball mustard) is a plant species in the family Brassicaceae. The name co ...

'', and '' Halimolobos''. Some authors circumscribe ''Capsella'' to contain only three species: ''

Capsella bursa-pastoris ''Capsella bursa-pastoris'', known as shepherd's purse because of its triangular flat fruits, which are purse-like, is a small annual and ruderal flowering plant in the mustard family (Brassicaceae). It is native to eastern Europe and Asia minor, ...

'', ''

Capsella rubella ''Capsella rubella'', the pink shepherd's-purse, is a plant species in the genus '' Capsella'', a very close relative of ''Arabidopsis thaliana'' and a member of the mustard family, Brassicaceae. It has a very similar appearance to ''Capsella bur ...

'' and '' Capsella grandiflora''. ,

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

's Plants of the World Online list eight species. ''

'' is a self-fertilizing species that became self-compatible 50,000 to 100,000 years ago. Its outcrossing progenitor was ''Capsella grandiflora''. In general, the shift from outcrossing to self-fertilization is among the most common transitions in flowering plants. ''Capsella rubella'' is studied as a model for understanding the evolution of self-fertilization. The name is said to derive from Latin ''capsa'', a box or case, alluding to fruit resembling a medieval wallet or purse; the suffix ''-ella'' denotes "lesser".

Species

Species include: *''

'' *'' Capsella grandiflora'' *'' Capsella lycia'' *'' Capsella mexicana'' *'' Capsella orientalis'' *'' Capsella puberula'' *''

'' *'' Capsella tasmanica''

References

{{Authority control Brassicaceae genera