Sanguisorba minor Scop.

Spice In the field Inflorescence Inflorescence 2

Family: ROSACEAE

Genus: Sanguisorba

Catalan common name: Herba de talls. Pentinella. Petinel·la. Pimpinella petita.

Spanish common name: Hierba de cuchillo.

Province distribution: Alacant. Balearic Islands. Barcelona. Castelló. Girona. Lleida. Tarragona. València.

Distribution in the islands: Mallorca. Menorca. Ibiza. Formentera. Cabrera.

General distribution (Phytogeography): Europa

Uses and properties: Edible or foodstuffs. Medicinal.

IUCN Category: LCLeast concern

Flowering time: JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Life-forms: Hemicryptophyte.

Habitats: Cultivated fields, path and road sides, disturbed zones. Pine wood and shrubland with rosemary and thyme garigue. Fields and road sides.

Characteristics: Sanguisorba minor is a species belonging to the Rosaceae family, although the inflorescence morphology does not resemble it at all. It has composite leaves with dentate leafleats, one of them, terminal. The flowers are very small and do not have petals, and they are grouped in rounded glomerules at the top of the stem. In the Balearic Islands we can find two subspecies (subsp. spachiana and subsp. polygama) which are distinguished by the shape and the ornamentation of the fruits. It lives in fields and along path-sides.