MHG Volunteer Blog: Week 8 - Salad burnet

The signs of spring are starting to emerge - even if the weather is all over the place! 

Here's what our Medieval Herb Garden volunteers have been up to this week:

24 February 2025

It was quite a busy morning. David and James weeded between the lavender and the drive. Afterwards, James and Kaidan started to dig a trench between the MHG and the weed-infected spoil hill. The spoil hill is left over from the gatehouse excavations. We do this in the vague hope that we will be able to make a break line to stop the weeds getting a toe-hold in the MHG.

We discovered another surprise today. Although snowdrops were used in the past to treat headaches, we haven’t planted any in the MHG. We might take this lone visitor as a hint, and get some for next year.

The lone snowdrop in the Medieval Herb Garden

Carole carried out a general tidy-up of various plants. She removed a bucketful of ragweed and removed all the dead branches from the variegated beech tree. 

As a last job, Carole dug up some liquorice runners (“roots”). These will be used by Kelly, Learning Officer, in her next home education workshops. In the workshops, the children will learn about the history and the uses of liquorice. They will also get to taste the natural plant for themselves.

Liquorice runners dug up from the MHG

Plant of the week - Salad Burnet, Garden Burnet (sanguisorba minor)

The Latin sanguisorba minor, comes from 'sanguis', meaning 'blood', and 'sorbere', meaning to 'soak up'. The name relates to its ancient medicinal use, which was to staunch wounds.

This herbaceous perennial grows to a height of 3ft and a spread of 18 inches. The leaves are rounded with toothed edges. There are four to twelve pairs of leaflets per leaf, which form a rosette. It has knobbly clusters of crimson flowers and burred fruit. It will readily self-seed everywhere. 

Salad burnet growing in the MHG

Although native of chalk soils, salad burnet will grow in any alkaline or neutral, well-drained conditions. It prefers full sun to part shade. 

Culinary uses of salad burnet

Salad burnet is useful as it is one of the first “cuttable crops” to appear before Spring fully takes hold. 

It tastes similar to cucumber or melon and can be used as a substitute for them, where flavour rather than bulk is required. Only the young leaves should be used, as the leaves get more bitter as they get older! Think of it as cucumber-flavoured parsley. 

It is often added to gin and tonic as a garnish.

Folklore and other salad burnet facts

It has long been believed that salad burnet could stop both internal and external bleeding. According to legend, soldiers in the American War of Independence used to drink salad burnet “tea”. They thought that the “tea” would stop them from bleeding to death if they were shot.

Medieval uses*

Salad burnet has been used for more than 2,000 years. It was known to the ancient Greeks and Chinese. Preparations of salad burnet root have been used to treat wounds, dysentery and menstruation. It was once used against the bubonic plague and to control bleeding and heal wounds. Salad burnet has also been used historically to help digestion.

*As always, this isn't to be considered medical advice today. Please don't use any plants mentioned in these blogs as medicine without advice from a doctor.

Browse the previous Medieval Herb Garden blogs here