Seasonal Wild Flowers

Salad Burnet

Sanguisorba minor subsp. minor

Rosaceae

May to August

It is found throughout the country.

See the BSBI distribution map for Salad Burnet

It grows mainly on dry, nutrient-poor, chalk and limestone

grassland, and in rocky places.

Salad Burnet is a native perennial herb, growing up

to 60cm.

The flowers are in a round flowerhead up to 2cm across.

Individual flowers have 4 green sepals (no petals), which

are often tinged purple and become more purple when

older.

The lower flowers in the head contain multiple, dangly,

yellow stamens.

Middle flowers have both stamens and styles.

The upper flowers have purple, feathery styles (rather

indistinct in picture 3).

Leaves are pinnate with up to 12 pairs of round, toothed

leaflets.

Stems are erect, stiff and variously branched.

The plant smells of cucumber when crushed.

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Next page: Salsify

Salad Burnet in a quarry, Isle of Portland

Flowerhead showing stamens

Flowerheads showing feathery, purple styles

Older, purple-tinged flowerhead

Purple flowerhead - sepals

Leaves and leaflets