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Pimpinella saxifraga

Common name:	Burnet Saxifrage	Family:	Umbelliferae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	17, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe, including Britain, but absent from much of the south and the Arctic, to W. Asia, W. Siberia.
Habitat:	Fields and hedgerows in dry ground, especially on calcareous soils[7, 17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Black Caraway [E], Burnet Saxifrage [H,E], Burnet-saxifrage [L], Kleine Bevernel [D], Kucuk Pimpinella [E], Lesser Burnet [H], Pate Di Gate [E], Pimpinela Blanca [E], Pinpinera [E], Solid-stem Burnet-saxifrage [B], Solidstem Burnet Saxifrage [P],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Apiales. Renamed to Apiaceae -- Carrot family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Belgium; Germany; Mediterranean; Spain; Turkey

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1m by 0.6m . It is hardy to zone 4 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from July to August, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Meadow, Hedgerow, Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Edible Uses

Condiment; Leaves; Seed.

Young leaves and shoots - raw. They can be added in small quantities to mixed salads or used to impart a cool aromatic flavour to cooling drinks[7, 183, 244]. The leaves are said to have a parsley-like tang[7], whilst another report says that the flavour is like cucumber[183].
Seeds - used as a condiment[46, 61, 105]. They are coated with sugar and eaten as a confection[183].
An essential oil from the root is used as a flavouring in sweets etc[183]. It gives a bitter flavour to liqueurs[238].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antispasmodic; Astringent; Carminative; Cholagogue; Diaphoretic; Diuretic; Emmenagogue; Ophthalmic; Resolvent; Skin; Stomachic.

Burnet saxifrage has long been held in high regard as a medicinal herb, being used especially in the treatment of wounds and internally to ease digestion, soothe respiratory complaints and treat kidney and urinary diseases[244]. The leaves and the root are antispasmodic, astringent, carminative, cholagogue, diaphoretic, diuretic, emmenagogue, resolvent and stomachic[4, 7, 13, 21]. The plant is harvested as it comes into flower and dried for later use[4]. The root is harvested in the autumn and can also be dried for later use[7].
The root is anti-inflammatory, mildly astringent and expectorant[9]. The fresh root is very hot and acrid, but this pungency is greatly reduced when the root is dried[4]. When chewed, the fresh root is effective in treating toothaches and paralysis of the tongue[4]. The root is also used for soothing coughs or the effects of laryngitis and bronchitis[9]. The roots can be harvested in the spring or autumn and are dried for later use[9].
A lotion made from the root is used externally to help regenerate the skin of older people[7].
A distilled water made from the plant is used as an eye lotion[7].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Succeeds in most soils[200]. Prefers a dry alkaline soil in full sun or light shade[238].

Propagation

The seed requires a period of cold stratification. If you can obtain fresh seed then it is best sown immediately. Germination rates are usually very good so it is probably best done in situ if you have sufficient seed, but if you only have a small quantity then it is safer to sow it in pots in a cold frame. Sow stored seed as soon as you can obtain it, this is probably best done in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the pot-grown seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[13] Triska. Dr. Hamlyn Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn 1975 ISBN 0-600-33545-3
Very interesting reading, giving some details of plant uses and quite a lot of folk-lore.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[244] Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs Pan Books Ltd. London. 1990 ISBN 0-330-30725-8
Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant.

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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