Sanguisorba minor subsp. muricata (Bonnier & Layens) Briq.
(D.R.G., C.J.W.)
sheep's burnet
N.: Wellington (Marton, Martinborough, Wairarapa coast, Wellington City area); S.: Nelson (Takaka, Nelson City), Marlborough (Blenheim, Fairhall, Renwick, Wither Hills), lowland Canterbury and inland N. and S. Canterbury, Otago (Benmore, Luggate).
S. Europe, N. Africa, S.W. Asia 1877
Roadsides, riverbeds, stony short grassland and coastal sites.
Most records of Sanguisorba or Poterium naturalised in N.Z. are based on plants of S. minor subsp. muricata - this includes references to P. sanguisorba, P. polygamum, S. muricata, and S. officinalis. Acaena huttoni Rob. Brown is probably also based on a plant of this subsp.
Records of subsp. minor, salad burnet, are not substantiated by specimens although this subsp. is cultivated in N.Z. as a culinary herb. It is distinguished from subsp. muricata by the angles of the hypanthium having short and obscure wings and the faces being merely reticulate. Both subsp. minor and subsp. muricata have been grown since the early part of this century in drier, inland parts of the South Id. subsp. muricata has potential for erosion control and as a fodder plant in drought-prone parts of the E. and C. South Id.
