Sanguisorba minor - Salad Burnet

Family:	Rosaceae
Habit:	Perennial
Height:	0.6
Width:	0.3
Synonyms:	Poterium dictyocarpum. P. sanguisorba.
Range:	Europe, including Britain, from Sweden south and east to France, Armenia and Iran.

Sanguisorba minor (Salad Burnet) is a Perennial which grows to a height of 0.6m and a width of 0.3m . It has a hardness rating of 5and is vunerable to frost.
Salad Burnet will flower in November to February. the seeds ripen from January to March
The flowers from this plant are hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and they are pollinated by Bees

Soil Information

Salad Burnet will grow in light (sandy),medium (loamy),hard (clay) soil. It is / is important for the soil to be well drained.
The soil prefers the following PH / acid levels :
- pH of less than 6, Acidic soils
- pH between 6 and 8, Neutral soils
- pH greater than 8, Basic soils
Salad Burnet prefers moist soils

Ideal Planting Locations

Salad Burnet should not be planted in shady areas.

Grassland, usually on calcareous soils[9, 17, 37].

Planting places suited to this plant described below.

• Planted in the lawn
• Suits a meadow

Cultivation Details

Prefers a light dry calcareous soil[1, 37, 200] but succeeds in most good soils[1, 37]. Plants also succeed in poor soils[4]. One report says that it grows well in marshy soil[24] but this is possibly a mistake[K]. Dislikes shade[14]. 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[K]. When grown as a salad, the plant should be prevented from flowering[4]. Grows well in the spring meadow[24]. Makes a good edging plant in the border[200]. Plants often self-sow, sometimes to the point of nuisance[K].

Edible Uses*

* See disclaimer
Edible Rating: 4/5
Young leaves and shoots - raw or cooked[2, 5, 9, 14, 21]. They are best used before the plant comes into flower[9]. Eaten in salads, used as a garnish or added to soups, cooling drinks and claret cups[183]. Young seedlings are boiled and eaten[183]. 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[K]. 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[K]. The leaves contain about 5.65% protein, 1.2% fat, 11% carbohydrate, 1.7% ash, 74.5% water[179]. A herb tea is made from the dried leaves[21, 183].

• Leaves -
• Tea - the various herb teas that can be used in place of tea, plus the genuine article.

Medicinal Uses*

* See disclaimer
Medicinal Rating: 2/5
Both the root and the leaves are astringent, diaphoretic and styptic, though the root is most active[4]. The plant is an effective wound herb, quickly staunching any bleeding[244]. An infusion is used in the treatment of gout and rheumatism[244]. The leaves can be used fresh, or are harvested in July and dried (the plant should be prevented from flowering)[4]. The root is harvested in the autumn and dried[4]. An infusion of the leaves is used as a soothing treatment for sunburn or skin troubles such as eczema[201].

• Astringent - Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.
• Diaphoretic - Induces perspiration.
• Skin - Plants used in miscellaneous treatments for the skin.
• Styptic - An astringent that stops bleeding by contracting the blood vessels.

Propagation

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.

Known Hazards

None known

Other Uses

Plants have extensive root systems and are used for erosion control, they are also used to reclaim landfills and mined-out terrain[160].

• 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.

Cultivars

no recorded cultivars

References

Flora of the British Isles.
Clapham, Tootin and Warburg.
Author: Clapham, Tootin and Warburg.
Rating:
Publisher : A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.
Date of Publication : 1962

The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992.
Huxley. A.
Author: Huxley. A.
Rating:
Publisher : Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
Date of Publication : 1992

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