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Salad Burnet

©Philip Precey

Salad burnet

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A low-growing herb of chalk and limestone grassland, Salad burnet lives up to its name - it is a popular addition to salads and smells of cucumber when crushed!

Scientific name

Sanguisorba minor

When to see

May to September

Top facts

Stats

Height: up to 50cm
Common.

About

Salad burnet is a low-growing herb of chalk and limestone grassland that produces rounded, reddish flower heads from May to September. Its leaves are famous for smelling of cucumber if crushed or walked upon, and this plant lives up to its name as a popular addition to salads and summer drinks.

What to look for

The leaves of Salad burnet comprise up to 12 pairs of rounded, toothed leaflets, and form a rosette at the base of the flower stem. Its rounded flower heads are reddish and speckled.

Where to find

Mainly found in England.

Did you know?

The rusty-coloured flower heads of Salad burnet made it a favourite among herbalists for helping to heal wounds.