Salad Burnet, Small burnet
Sanguisorba minor
Family: Rosaceae
What it is like
Also known by the scientific name Poterium sanguisorba.
Sanguisorba minor is an evergreen Perennial growing to 0.6 m (2ft) by 0.3 m (1ft in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from May to August, and the seeds ripen from July to September. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Bees. The plant is self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.
Height (m): 0.6
Where it is found
Grassland, usually on calcareous soils.
Europe, including Britain, from Sweden south and east to France, Armenia and Iran.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 4
Young leaves and shoots - raw or cooked. They are best used before the plant comes into flower. Eaten in salads, used as a garnish or added to soups, cooling drinks and claret cups. Young seedlings are boiled and eaten. A bit fiddly to harvest and the leaves sometimes become bitter in hot dry summers, but they are usually fairly mild tasting in the winter and some people detect a cucumber flavour to them. In the acid soil of our Cornish trial grounds, the leaves have a distinctly bitter flavour, though when the same plants were grown on a chalky soil they had a much milder flavour. The leaves contain about 5.65% protein, 1.2% fat, 11% carbohydrate, 1.7% ash, 74.5% water. A herb tea is made from the dried leaves.
Tea: the various herb teas that can be used in place of tea, plus the genuine article.
Medicine
Rating: 2
Both the root and the leaves are astringent, diaphoretic and styptic, though the root is most active. The plant is an effective wound herb, quickly staunching any bleeding. An infusion is used in the treatment of gout and rheumatism. The leaves can be used fresh, or are harvested in July and dried (the plant should be prevented from flowering). The root is harvested in the autumn and dried. An infusion of the leaves is used as a soothing treatment for sunburn or skin troubles such as eczema.
Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.
Diaphoretic: Induces perspiration.
Eczema: Used in the treatment of eczema - a chronic health condition that affects the skin, causing redness, dryness, itching and infections.
Skin: Plants used in miscellaneous treatments for the skin.
Styptic: An astringent that stops bleeding by contracting the blood vessels.
Other
Rating: 3
Plants have extensive root systems and are used for erosion control, they are also used to reclaim landfills and mined-out terrain. A dynamic accumulator gathering minerals or nutrients from the soil and storing them in a more bioavailable form - used as fertilizer or to improve mulch.
Soil reclamation: Plants that can be grown in such circumstances an the spoil tips of mines in order to restore fertility.
Soil stabilization: Plants that can be grown in places such as sand dunes in order to prevent erosion by wind, water or other agents.
Dynamic accumulator: Plants that gather minerals or nutrients from the soil and store them in a more bioavailable form and in high concentration in their tissues. Used as fertilizer or to improve mulch.
Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.
How it is grown
Prefers a light dry calcareous soil but succeeds in most good soils. Plants also succeed in poor soils. One report says that it grows well in marshy soil but this is possibly a mistake. Dislikes shade. Occasionally cultivated in the herb garden, this is an evergreen herbaceous plant and it supplies fresh edible leaves all the year round, even in quite severe winters. When grown as a salad, the plant should be prevented from flowering. Grows well in the spring meadow. Makes a good edging plant in the border. Plants often self-sow, sometimes to the point of nuisance. The plant is heat tolerant in zones 8 through 1. (Plant Hardiness Zones show how well plants withstand cold winter temperatures. Plant Heat Zones show when plants would start suffering from the heat. The Plant Heat Zone map is based on the number of "heat days" experienced in a given area where the temperature climbs to over 86 degrees F (30°C). At this temperature, many plants begin to suffer physiological damage. Heat Zones range from 1 (no heat days) to 12 (210 or more heat days). For example Heat Zone. 11-1 indicates that the plant is heat tolerant in zones 11 through 1.) For polyculture design as well as the above-ground architecture (form - tree, shrub etc. and size shown above) information on the habit and root pattern is also useful and given here if available. The plant growth habit is a clumper with limited spread. The root pattern is rhizomatous with underground stems sending roots and shoots along their length.
Propagating it: Seed - sow March/April or September/October in a cold frame. Germinates in 3 weeks. Prick out the seedlings when they are large enough to handle into individual pots. Plant them out in the spring or early summer. The seed can also be sown in situ in spring or autumn if you have sufficient seed. Division in spring.
Best place to grow: Lawn; Meadow;
Habit: Perennial
Hardiness: 4-8
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: No shade
Moisture: Moist
Things to keep in mind
Its other names
Local names
Synonyms
Poterium dictyocarpum. P. sanguisorba.