Sanguisorba is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rosaceae native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The common name is burnet.
Description
The plants are herbaceousperennials or small shrubs. The stems grow to 50–200 cm tall and have a cluster of basal leaves, with further leaves arranged alternately up the stem. The leaves are pinnate, 5–30 cm long, with 7-25 leaflets, the leaflets with a serrated margin. Young leaves grow from the crown in the center of the plant. The flowers are small, produced in dense clusters 5–20 mm long; each flower has four very small petals, white to red in colour.
Burnets are cultivated as garden plants. Many cultivars have been bred, especially from S. officinalis. S. canadensis is grown for its white flowers on stems that well exceed a meter tall. The plants hybridize easily, producing new mixes.[2]S. obtusa is valued for its foliage of pink-edged, gray-green leaves.[3]
Sanguisorba minor, salad burnet, has similarly been used medicinally in Europe to control bleeding. The leaves have a cucumber flavour and can be eaten in salads, or used fresh or dried and made into a tea.[5]
Etymology
The Latin genus name Sanguisorba means ‘blood stauncher’. ‘Sanguis’ is a cognate with ‘sanguine’, meaning 'blood'. ‘Sorbeo’ means 'to staunch’. The plant is known to have styptic properties.[6]
References
^"Sanguisorba L."Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
