Salad burnet is a herb in the Rosaceae family native to western Asia and Europe, and naturalized in North America. It was popular in Elizabethan England and has medicinal qualities. It adds a refreshing spice to salads and is hardy in gardens.
Salad burnet (Sanguisorba minor) is a perennial herb in the Rosaceae family, making it a relative of roses. This plant is native to western Asia and Europe and was originally grown in medieval gardens. The salad burnet has naturalized across much of North America.
Salad burnet was very popular in Elizabethan England. Members of the upper class often served their guests goblets of wine with salad burner leaves floating in them because they thought it added a touch of class and elegance. When pilgrims ventured to America from Europe, they brought this herb with them.
Sir Frances Bacon was a big fan of the beautiful and aromatic herb and suggested planting arugula for salad along garden paths. Thomas Jefferson valued weed for several reasons, however. Because this plant grows well in poor, dry soil, Jefferson sent his young workers out with burnet seeds for salad to help stop erosion and create fodder for his livestock.
Salad burnet has the same medicinal qualities as medicinal burnet (Sanguisorba officinalis). The Latin species name, sanguisorba, translates as “blood drink,” which refers to the traditional use of the salad burner to stop internal bleeding and hemorrhaging. Soldiers of yore would drink tea brewed from the herb because they believed it would make the wounds they received less severe and they would be less likely to bleed to death. Salad burnet was also thought to be a cure for bubonic plague and was one of 21 herbs combined and dissolved in wine to create an anti-plague tonic.
Today, salad burnet is a popular herb in European cuisine. As the name suggests, the herb can add a refreshing spice to salads because the leaves taste like cucumbers. The leaves also blend well with rosemary and tarragon and are often considered interchangeable with mint leaves. The salad bowl can also be used in any casserole, sauce or soup that calls for dill, oregano or basil. Only young, tender leaves should be used because bowl salad turns bitter with age. This herb should be used fresh or frozen as it loses its flavor when dried.
Salad burnet is a hardy herb that looks great in any garden. The plant resembles a lace fern with small dark magenta flowers. The leaves are greenish gray and grow from a red woody stem. Because these delicate looking leaves drape gracefully from a low, central mound, salad burner makes a wonderful container plant.
Whether grown in a container or on the ground, the plant needs partial to full sunlight. Although soil conditions may be poor, the salad burner should receive moderate water and have good drainage to avoid rotting roots. Cutting the flowers will produce lots of new, tender leaves. If the flowers are left untrimmed, a lettuce burner plant can grow up to 20cm tall and wide.
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