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Sanguisorba officinalis
| Common name: |
Great Burnet |
Family: |
Rosaceae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
17, 200 |
| Synonyms: |
Poterium officinale ((L.)A.Gray.) |
| Known Hazards: |
None known |
| Range: |
Europe, including Britain, from celand south and east to Spain, temperate Asia to Iran, China, Japan |
| Habitat: |
Meadows and wet grassy places by streams[187]. Moist shady sites in grassland, on siliceous soils[7, 13, 17]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
2 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 3 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| S. carnea[H]
S. microcephala[B,P]
S. officinalis ssp. microcephala[B,P]
S. officinalis var. polygama[B,P]
S. polygama[G]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Burnet Bloodwort [H], Common Burnet [H], European Great Burnet [B], Garden Burnet [H], Great Burnet [H,L], Greater Burnet [H], Grote Pimpernel [D], Official Burnet [P], Pimpernel [E], Pimpinela Mayor [E], Salad Burnet [H], Ti Yu [E], Tibbi Kanotu [E], Ware-Moko [E], |
| Epithets: | From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets |
|
officinalis = sold as an herb;
orba = orphan;
|
| Systematics: | From a USDA
Plants Database |
|
Order: Rosales. Rose family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Britain(Wales); China; 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 June to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, flies and Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies).
The plant is self-fertile.
We rate it 2/5 for edibility and
3/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in nutritionally poor 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 moist or wet soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Meadow, Bog Garden.Edible Uses
Leaves; Tea.
Young leaves and flower buds - raw or cooked[13, 61, 105]. They should
be harvested in the spring before the plant comes into flower[9]. A cucumber
flavour[7, 46], they can be added to salads or used as a potherb[183].
The fresh or dried leaves are used as a tea substitute[183].
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Anodyne; Astringent; Contraceptive; Diuretic; Febrifuge; Haemostatic; Tonic; Vulnerary.
Great burnet is employed mainly for its astringent action, being used
to slow or arrest blood flow. It is taken both internally and externally
internally and is a safe and effective treatment. Modern research in China
has shown that the whole herb heals burns more effectively than the extracted
tannins (the astringent component of the plant)[254]. Patients suffering from
eczema showed marked improvement when treated with an ointment made from the
root and petroleum jelly[254].
The leaves are astringent, refrigerant, styptic and tonic[7, 218, 222]. They
are used in the treatment of fevers and bleeding[218, 222]. The plant is
prevented from flowering and then the leaves are harvested in July and dried
for later use[4, 238].
The root is anodyne, astringent, diuretic, febrifuge, haemostatic, tonic and
vulnerary[4, 7, 9, 21, 147, 165, 176, 178, 218]. It is used in the treatment
of peptic ulcers, haematuria, menorrhagia, bloody stool, dysentery,
diarrhoea, haemorrhoids and burns[176]. The root is harvested in the autumn
as the leaves die down and dried for later use[4, 238].
All parts of the plant are astringent, but the root is most active[4]. Great
burnet is an excellent internal treatment for all sorts of abnormal
discharges including diarrhoea, dysentery and leucorrhoea[4]. It is used
externally in the treatment of burns, scalds, sores and skin diseases[238].
This species was ranked 19th in a Chinese survey of 250 potential
anti-fertility plants[218].
Other Uses
Tannin.
The roots contain tannin[7].
Cultivation details
Succeeds in ordinary garden soil[1]. Prefers a good moist soil that
does not dry out in the summer, in sun or partial shade[187, 200]. Plants
grow tolerably well in very poor soils and likes a dry chalky soil[4].
This species is hardy to about -25°c[187].
Propagation
Seed - sow spring or autumn in a cold frame. When they are large enough
to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out as
soon as they have reached a reasonable size.
The seed can also be sown in situ in early spring[4].
Division in the spring or in autumn[4].
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.
- [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.
- [C] Taxon data.
from the CalFlora database.
- [PHARM] Phytochemical Data
(common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
- [HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
References for Poterium officinale (a possible synonym).
References for sanguisorba officinalis (a possible synonym).
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[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.
[147] ? A Barefoot Doctors Manual. Running Press ISBN 0-914294-92-X
A very readable herbal from China, combining some modern methods with traditional chinese methods.
[165] Mills. S. Y. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
An excellent small herbal.
[176] Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985
A very good Chinese herbal.
[178] Stuart. Rev. G. A. Chinese Materia Medica. Taipei. Southern Materials Centre
A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating.
[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.
[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.
[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.
[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
[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.
[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.
Readers Comments
Sanguisorba officinalis
Lukasz Luczaj
(sluczaj@box43.gnet.pl)
Sun Mar 10 20:47:00 2002
Dried and ground roots of Sanguisorba officinalis, Butomus umbellatus,
Lilium martagon, Lilium spectabile and Typha latifolia were made into flour by Yakuts of Siberia. It was added to a dish
called 'butugas'.
Source:
Maurizo A. 1926 "Pozywienie roslinne i rolnictwo w rozwoju dziejowym", Warsaw.
Maurizo quoted the following original source:
Sieroszewski W. 1900. "12 lat w kraju Jakutow", Warsaw.
Cross references:
Plants:
Typha latifolia,
Lilium martagon,
Lilium spectabile,
Butomus umbellatus.
Main Search Page
Bibliography
Plant information taken from the
Plants For A Future -
Species Database.
Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963 This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Sanguisorba+officinalis
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Sanguisorba+officinalis
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