Capsella bursa-pastoris is a slender, erect, annual to short-lived perennial plant, usually growing from 15 - 70cm tall.Often harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine, the plant is also extensively cultivated in some areas of the world as a cabbage-flavoured spring greens, in Japan it is one of the essential ingredients of a ceremonial rice and barley gruel that is eaten on January 7th