American Burnet is a native wildflower typically found in bogs, along rivers, seepage slopes, swamps, wet meadows, and thickets. Its whiteish flowers are in the form of cylindrical spikes that appear at the upper portion of the stems. The flowers are dense and form around the central axis of the spike. The flowers do not have petals, each has a calyx with 4 spreading lobes, 4 long stamens, and a pistil. Its stamens give the spikes a fuzzy appearance. Each fall, the flowers are replaced by capsules, where 1 seed has been produced. The botanical name Sanguisorba comes from the plants' reputation as a plant that can stop bleeding. Sanguisorba means 'blood stauncher'. Sangui (or sanguine) means 'red blood', Sorba is defined as 'to staunch'. In many areas in the USA where this is considered a native plant, the current status is listed as rare to extremely rare. Listed as threatened to endangered. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems:
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Fills a similar nicheAsclepias incarnata subsp. pulchraHelenium flexuosumSaururus cernuus
Full plant profile
Growing Conditions
Plant type
Herbaceous Perennial; Native Plant; Wildflower
Life cycle
Perennial
USDA zones
4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b
Soil texture
High Organic Matter
Soil drainage
Frequent Standing Water | Moist | Occasional Flooding
NC region
Mountains
Growth rate
Rapid
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect
Texture
Medium
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf arrangement
Alternate; Rosulate
Leaf shape
Oblong; Pinnatifid
Leaf margin
Dentate; Serrate
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Large, 1.5' long basal leaves. Divided into 7 to 15 oblong, sharply toothed leaflets, each 1"-2.5" long and .5"-1.25" wide. The leaves are located on the lower half of a plant. The lower side of each leaf is a slightly lighter shade of green than the upper side.
Flower color
White
Flower value
Showy
Flower form
Spike
Flower detail
Small white flowers in dense spikes on branched stems. Spikes may reach 2-8" long and 1" wide. Flowers lack petals but have a calyx with 4 lobes and 4 long showy stamens.
Bloom time
Fall; Summer
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
The fruit is dry. It does not split open when ripe.
Stem color
Green
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
North America
Distribution
AK, CT, DC, DE, GA, ID, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, TN, VA, VT, WA, WV