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Sanguisorba minor - Scop.

Salad Burnet

Author	Scop.	Botanical references	17, 200
Family	Rosaceae	Genus	Sanguisorba
Synonyms	Poterium dictyocarpum - Spach. Poterium sanguisorba - L.
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Europe, including Britain, from Sweden south and east to France, Armenia and Iran.
Habitat	Grassland, usually on calcareous soils[9, 17, 37].
Edibility Rating	4 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	2 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen Perennial growing to 0.6m by 0.3m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats

Lawn; Meadow;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Leaves.

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].

Composition

Figures in grams (g) or miligrams (mg) per 100g of food.

Leaves (Dry weight)

• 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: 

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; 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].

Other Uses

Soil reclamation; Soil stabilization.

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

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].

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.

Links

This plant is also mentioned in the following PFAF articles: The Edible Lawn, Winter Salads.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[14] Holtom. J. and Hylton. W. Complete Guide to Herbs. Rodale Press 1979 ISBN 0-87857-262-7
A good herbal.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[24] Baines. C. Making a Wildlife Garden. 0
Fairly good with lots of ideas about creating wildlife areas in the garden.

[37] Thompson. B. The Gardener's Assistant. Blackie and Son. 1878
Excellent general but extensive guide to gardening practices in the 19th century. A very good section on fruits and vegetables with many little known species.

[160] Natural Food Institute, Wonder Crops. 1987. 0
Fascinating reading, this is an annual publication. Some reports do seem somewhat exaggerated though.

[179] Reid. B. E. Famine Foods of the Chiu-Huang Pen-ts'ao. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre 1977
A translation of an ancient Chinese book on edible wild foods. Fascinating.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[201] Allardice.P. A - Z of Companion Planting. Cassell Publishers Ltd. 1993 ISBN 0-304-34324-2
A well produced and very readable book.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[244] Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs Pan Books Ltd. London. 1990 ISBN 0-330-30725-8
Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

Weeds as a future source for human consumption

Martha Díaz B Thu Jun 28 17:02:26 2001

We reciently recieved this article on the use of various weeds in south america. We though that you might enjoy it.

Abstract

Weeds may constitute an additional food source for humans. Up to 66% of weed species are edible and abound in urban and agricultural environments. A total of 43 species were sampled in tropical areas in Coatepec Mexico (e.g. roadsides, urban vacant lots, streets, sugar cane and coffee plantations). A similar survey performed in a temperate area in Bariloche Argentina with 32 species sampled. At a greater geographic scale, a comparison between Mexican and Argentine weeds shows that, proportionately, the food parts vary a little between regions. In general, the uses go from leaves, seeds, roots, fruits, and flowers.

Link: Weeds as a future source for human consumption

Weeds as a future source for human consumption

Klaus Thu Aug 16 16:12:55 2001

I really wonder what this has to do with montia perfoliata. The edible uses of weeds might be interesting, but not as a comment to this plant.

Sanguisorba minor

Klaus Dichtel Wed Jan 22 19:04:20 2003

My experience is, that most of the plant freezes down in severe frosts but the youngest leaves that stay green down to at least -11°C.

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