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.
Species
The following species are accepted:[1]
Sanguisorba albanica András. & Jáv.
Sanguisorba albiflora (Makino) Makino
Sanguisorba alpina Bunge
Sanguisorba ancistroides (Desf.) Ces.
Sanguisorba annua (Nutt. ex Hook.) Torr. & A.Gray – annual burnet, prairie burnet, western burnet
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 officinalis is used in traditional Chinese medicinal to treat gastrointestinal conditions and bleeding.[4]
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.
^Sutton, J. Sanguisorba in Cultivation. Archived 2013-08-28 at the Wayback MachineThe Plantsman. Royal Horticultural Society. June, 2007. 78-83.
^Bourne, V. How to grow: Sanguisorba. The Daily Telegraph September 21, 2002.
^Choi J, Kim MY, Cha BC, Yoo ES, Yoon K, Lee J, Rho HS, Kim SY, Cho JY (January 2012). "ZYM-201 sodium succinate ameliorates streptozotocin-induced hyperlipidemic conditions". Planta Med. 78 (1): 12–7. doi:10.1055/s-0031-1280219. PMID 21928167.
^Bown, Deni (2002). The Royal Horticultural Society New Encyclopaedia of Herbs & Their Uses. London: Dorling Kindersley Limited. ISBN 0-7513-3386-7.
^Gledhill, David (2008). The Names of Plants. MCambridge University Press. p. 339. ISBN 9780521866453.