# Salad Burnet (*Sanguisorba minor*)

Salad Burnet is a tasty green plant that grows in gardens and fields. Its leaves can be used in salads, adding a fresh flavor that's a little like cucumber!

- **Category:** [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/plant)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 1/5 · Very low
- **Habitat:** Grasslands
- **Also known as:** Burnet, Garden Burnet

![Salad Burnet](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/20130530Sanguisorba_minor4.jpg&width=800)

Photo: AnRo0002, CC0 · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20130530Sanguisorba_minor4.jpg)

## Appearance

The Salad Burnet has distinctive pinnate leaves with many oval, toothed leaflets arranged along a stem. Its tiny, globe-shaped flowers are reddish-green and appear in compact heads atop slender stalks. The overall plant forms a low clump with delicate, airy blooms.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Plantae
- **Phylum:** Tracheophyta
- **Class:** Magnoliopsida
- **Order:** Rosales
- **Family:** Rosaceae
- **Genus:** Poterium

## Interesting facts

- Ancient Romans added burnet to their wine for a unique, refreshing flavor!
- Medieval knights sometimes used burnet to flavor their drinks before feasts and battles!
- The name "Sanguisorba" means "blood stopper," referring to its historical medicinal use.
- This plant can grow on dry, poor soils where many other plants struggle to thrive.

## Special abilities

- **Flavor Power:** Salad Burnet has leaves that taste like fresh cucumber, making it a unique culinary herb for refreshing dishes.
- **Drought Master:** Salad Burnet has a deep taproot system that helps it find water and survive in dry, sunny conditions.
- **Year-Round Greens:** Salad Burnet can maintain its green leaves even through winter, providing fresh forage when other plants are dormant.

## Measurements & details

- **Height:** 30-60 cm
- **Spread:** 30-45 cm
- **Flower Size:** 0.5-1 cm
- **Bloom Season:** Late spring to summer
- **Edible:** Yes
- **Toxicity:** None
- **Lifecycle:** Perennial
- **Pollination Method:** Wind

## Ecological connections

- **Pollinates:** Honey Bee (*Apis mellifera*) — Visits flowers for nectar.
- **Eaten by:** [European Rabbit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/european-rabbit) (*Oryctolagus cuniculus*) — Rabbits often graze its tender leaves.
- **Eaten by:** [Roe Deer](https://www.snappit.app/explore/roe-deer) (*Capreolus capreolus*) — Deer browse its foliage.

## Traits

- [Herbaceous](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/herbaceous): Herbaceous plants are non-woody plants with soft stems that typically die back to the ground at the end of the growing season.
- [Aromatic](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/aromatic): Aromatic plants produce and emit fragrant volatile organic compounds, often for defense or to attract pollinators.
- [Flowering](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/flowering): Flowering plants are any plants that produce flowers as part of their reproductive cycle.
- [Biennial](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/biennial): Biennial plants complete their life cycle over two growing seasons, typically forming foliage in the first year and flowering/seeding in the second.
- [Edible](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/edible): Edible plants are those parts of a plant that are considered safe for human consumption.
- [Grassland](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/grassland): Grassland habitats are terrestrial biomes dominated by grasses and herbaceous plants, supporting a variety of grazing animals.
- [Pollinator Magnet](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/pollinator-magnet): Describes plants that are particularly attractive and beneficial to a wide range of pollinating organisms.

## Collections

- [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/plants)

## Safety

**Danger:** 1/5 · Very low

Always check with an adult before picking or eating any plants.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify Salad Burnet?

Start with the whole plant, then compare leaf arrangement, leaf edges, stems and any flowers or fruit. Opposite leaves grow in pairs; alternate leaves come one at a time along the stem. These details tell you far more together than a single green leaf does. Plant Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How tall is Salad Burnet?

30-60 cm

### How wide does Salad Burnet spread?

30-45 cm

### How big are the flowers on Salad Burnet?

0.5-1 cm

### When does Salad Burnet bloom?

Late spring to summer

### Is Salad Burnet edible?

Yes

### Is Salad Burnet toxic?

None

### What is Salad Burnet's lifecycle?

Perennial

## More Plants

- [white snakeroot](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-snakeroot) (*Ageratina altissima*)
- [tree-of-heaven](https://www.snappit.app/explore/tree-of-heaven) (*Ailanthus altissima*)
- [western sword fern](https://www.snappit.app/explore/western-sword-fern) (*Polystichum munitum*)
- [common milkweed](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-milkweed) (*Asclepias syriaca*)

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Source: [Salad Burnet: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/salad-burnet)