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Sanguisorba

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Sanguisorba
Flower head of Sanguisorba minor
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Subfamily: Rosoideae
Tribe: Sanguisorbeae
Subtribe: Sanguisorbinae
Genus: Sanguisorba
L.
Species

See text

Synonyms
  • Poterium L.
Sanguisorba hakusanensis

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

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The plants are herbaceous perennials 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

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The following species are accepted:[1]

Ecology

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Sanguisorba minor is a food plant for the larvae of the grizzled skipper (Pyrgus malvae) and the mouse moth (Amphipyra tragopoginis).

Cultivation and uses

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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

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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

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  1. ^ "Sanguisorba L." Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  2. ^ Sutton, J. Sanguisorba in Cultivation. Archived 2013-08-28 at the Wayback Machine The Plantsman. Royal Horticultural Society. June, 2007. 78-83.
  3. ^ Bourne, V. How to grow: Sanguisorba. The Daily Telegraph September 21, 2002.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Bown, Deni (2002). The Royal Horticultural Society New Encyclopaedia of Herbs & Their Uses. London: Dorling Kindersley Limited. ISBN 0-7513-3386-7.
  6. ^ Gledhill, David (2008). The Names of Plants. MCambridge University Press. p. 339. ISBN 9780521866453.