Sanguisorba minor

Scop.
Taxonomic status Accepted
Occurrence status Present
Origin Introduced

Erect herb to 1 m high; stems greenish-yellow to purplish, glabrous to sparsely pilose. Leaves 8–30 cm long; leaflets 9–21, ovate, 5–30 mm long, subsessile or on small petiolules to 2 mm long, glabrous on upper surface, a few scattered hairs on lower surface, sometimes purplish (especially towards margins), occasionally glaucous below, margins deeply toothed; stipules leaf-like, stem-clasping, toothed, c. 15 mm long. Inflorescence globose to ovoid, elongating somewhat at fruiting, 0.5–1.5 cm long, on peduncles 5–20 cm long. Female flowers above male flowers. Sepals 4, ovate-oblong, 2–4 mm long, green, margins whitish or pink to purple; stamens 4–many, exserted by up to 1 mm from sepals. Fruiting hypanthium usually 4-ribbed or winged, warty or ridged between ribs, immature fruit yellow and red-brown, mature fruit brown, 3–4 mm long. 

VVP, VRiv, GipP, Gold, CVU, GGr, DunT, NIS, HSF, OtR, Strz.

Five subspecies are sometimes recognised. However, boundaries between most are poorly defined. Victorian plants generally conform to either S. minorsubsp. muricataor S. minor subsp. magnolii.  

Created by: Andre Messina, 4 Jan. 2016
Updated by: Val Stajsic, 15 Mar. 2019
Sanguisorba minor (hero image) Spinning
Sanguisorba minor (distribution map) Spinning