(Poterium sanguisorba)    Perennial

 

The leaves of salad burnet have a slight cucumber taste and smell. Herbalists long ago recommended planting this herb, along with thyme and mint, to "perfume the air." Salad burnet is also a culinary favorite - it has hundreds of uses in salads, vinegars, garnishes, etc. and is a popular garden plant for its aesthetic properties.

This bushy perennial grows to about 1 to 1.5 feet tall. It has small, dark green, sharply toothed leaves and forms a 12-inch rosette of leaves. Midsummer, green, thimble-shaped flowers with reddish-purple stigmas appear along the stalks.