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Summary
Also known by the scientific name Poterium sanguisorba. Sanguisorba minor,
Salad Burnet is a versatile herb with a refreshing flavour, often described as cucumber-like. Young leaves and shoots are eaten raw or cooked and are best harvested before the plant flowers to maintain their mild taste. They are added to salads, used as a garnish, or incorporated into soups, cooling drinks, and claret cups. While the leaves can become bitter in hot, dry summers, they are typically mild during winter. The leaves are nutritious, containing about 5.65% protein, 1.2% fat, and 11% carbohydrate, making them a healthy addition to various dishes. Young seedlings are boiled and eaten, providing a slightly different texture and flavour than the leaves. Dried leaves make a refreshing herbal tea.
Medicinally, Salad Burnet root and leaves are astringent, diaphoretic, and styptic. It has traditionally been used as an effective wound herb to stop bleeding quickly. A leaf or root infusion treats conditions like gout and rheumatism.
Salad Burnet is a hardy plant well-suited for various soils, including poor and dry calcareous soils. Its extensive root system is excellent for erosion control and land reclamation projects, especially on landfills and mined-out terrain. The plant is known for gathering minerals from the soil and storing them in a bioavailable form that can improve mulch or serve as fertiliser. It also makes a good edging plant for borders and can self-sow prolifically, sometimes becoming a nuisance.
Salad Burnet is native to a wide range of regions, including parts of Europe, the Mediterranean, and Central Asia, such as Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Austria, Bulgaria, Cape Provinces, France, Great Britain, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Spain, Tunisia, and Turkey.
Harvesting: Young leaves and shoots are best from spring to early summer before flowering.
Physical Characteristics
Sanguisorba minor is an evergreen Perennial growing to 0.6 m (2ft) by 0.3 m (1ft in) at a fast rate.
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.
It is noted for attracting wildlife.
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.
UK Hardiness Map
US Hardiness Map
Synonyms
Poterium dictyocarpum. P. sanguisorba.
Plant Habitats
Lawn; Meadow;
Edible Uses
Edible Parts: Leaves Shoots
Edible Uses: Tea
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].
References More on Edible Uses
| Composition
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| Figures in grams (g) or miligrams (mg) per 100g of food.
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Leaves (Dry weight)
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- 0 Calories per 100g
- Water : 0%
- Protein: 11.1g; Fat: 2g; Carbohydrate: 80.4g; Fibre: 18g; Ash: 6.5g;
- Minerals - Calcium: 0mg; Phosphorus: 0mg; Iron: 0mg; Magnesium: 0mg; Sodium: 0mg; Potassium: 0mg; Zinc: 0mg;
- Vitamins - A: 0mg; Thiamine (B1): 0mg; Riboflavin (B2): 0mg; Niacin: 0mg; B6: 0mg; C: 0mg;
- Reference: [ 218]
- Notes:
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Medicinal Uses
Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.
Astringent Diaphoretic Eczema Skin Styptic
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].
References More on Medicinal Uses
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Other Uses
Soil reclamation Soil stabilization
Agroforestry uses: Salad Burnet can be used as a ground cover and in mixed herb gardens. Its extensive root system helps improve soil structure and prevents erosion. Plants have extensive root systems and are used for erosion control, they are also used to reclaim landfills and mined-out terrain[160]. 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. 1. Nectary - Flowers rich in nectar and pollen:
Yes – Salad burnet produces flowers that can attract pollinators, providing some nectar and pollen for bees and other beneficial insects.
2. Wildlife - Food (Fruit, Seeds, Leaf litter, Shelter, Nesting, Roosting):
Yes – The young leaves are edible and can be consumed by humans, and the plant may offer some food value to herbivores. While it doesn’t provide significant shelter or nesting sites, its dense foliage can provide some cover for small wildlife.
3. Invertebrate Shelter (Overwintering sites, Leaf litter, Groundcover):
Yes – Salad burnet can provide habitat for beneficial insects, especially in leaf litter and as ground cover. Its foliage may support a variety of invertebrate life.
4. Pest Confuser (Smell):
Yes – The plant has a pleasant aromatic quality, which may help deter certain pests, contributing to a more balanced garden ecosystem.
Special Uses
Dynamic accumulator Food Forest
References More on Other Uses
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]. 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 [1-2]. The root pattern is rhizomatous with underground stems sending roots and shoots along their length [1-2]. The young leaves and shoots are best harvested from spring to early summer, before flowering.
Salad Burnet typically flowers from late spring to early summer, around June to July (Northern Hemisphere). Salad Burnet is a moderately fast-growing perennial herb, establishing itself quickly and providing leaves for multiple harvests throughout the growing season. Salad Burnet is self-fertile.
References Carbon Farming Information and Carbon Sequestration Information
Temperature Converter
Type a value in the Celsius field to convert the value to Fahrenheit:
Fahrenheit:
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Plant 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.
Other Names
If available other names are mentioned here
Native Range
TEMPERATE ASIA: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ciscaucasia, Cyprus, Dagestan, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Russian Federation, Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia, Russian Federation-Western Siberia, Syria, Turkey, Western Siberia,Afghanistan. EUROPE: Denmark, United Kingdom (U.K.), Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Russian Federation-European part, European part, Lithuania, Ukraine (incl. Krym), Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece (incl. Crete), Croatia, Italy (incl. Sardinia, Sicily), North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, France, Portugal, AFRICA: Spain, Canarias, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia.
Weed Potential
Right plant wrong place. We are currently updating this section.
Please note that a plant may be invasive in one area but may not in your area so it’s worth checking.
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants Status :
Growth: S = slow M = medium F = fast. Soil: L = light (sandy) M = medium H = heavy (clay). pH: A = acid N = neutral B = basic (alkaline). Shade: F = full shade S = semi-shade N = no shade. Moisture: D = dry M = Moist We = wet Wa = water.
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Author
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Botanical References
17200
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