Salad Burnet

Common Name: Salad Burnet

Latin Name: Sanguisorba minor ssp minor

Family: Rosaceae

The name salad burnet, also known as pot herb, is derived from the plants use as a salad vegetable and as a garnish for cold drinks. The leaves smell of cucumber when crushed. The globular red-tinged flower heads appear from May to August.

Fodder burnet (Sanguisorba minor ssp muricata) is similar in appearance and has been introduced from the continent and cultivated for livestock fodder. This species can also be found in wildflower seed mixtures.

Salad burnet is frequent in the Yorkshire Dales National Park on species-rich limestone grasslands and pasture, on roadside verges, and on limestone rocks.