Salad burnet
Sanguisorba minor
Also called Burnet, Poterium sanguisorba and Garden burnet
Garden plant · Herbs, veg & fruitIt stays green through the winter when nothing else in the herb bed does, and the young leaves taste of cucumber. Only the YOUNG ones — older leaves go tough and bitter, so cut the whole plant back hard two or three times a season.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Easy
- Water
- Every 9 daysWater the ground — water at the base, in the morning, not over the leaves.
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Feed
- Not needed
- Humidity
- Low
- Hardiness
- Very hardy RHS H7, to -25°C
- Size
- 0.4 m tall · 0.4 m across
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Origin
- Europe and western Asia
Is it safe for pets and people?
Nobody has checked this one against a source for us yet, so treat it as unknown rather than safe.
ASPCA lists this plant as "Salad Burnet", under Poterium sanguisorba — a long-standing synonym of Sanguisorba minor — as non-toxic to dogs, cats and horses.
Checked against ASPCA on 2026-09-22.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- Leaves that taste of nothing but green and chew like paper. They are old — only the youngest are worth eating, so shear the whole plant to the ground two or three times a season to force new ones.Tough bitter leaves · disorder
- Little ladder-leaved rosettes appearing through the gravel and between paving. Cut the bobble heads off before they brown.Seedlings everywhere · disorder