Burnet-saxifrage

Pimpinella saxifraga, the burnet saxifrage, is a slender perennial herb of the carrot family, 15 to 70 cm tall, growing from a tough, aromatic, branched taproot. The wiry, finely ridged, almost leafless flowering stems contrast with the basal leaves, which are once-pinnate with several pairs of rounded, toothed leaflets; the stem leaves are more finely divided into narrow segments. The small white (occasionally pinkish) flowers are borne in flat-topped compound umbels that lack both bracts and bracteoles. The fruit is a small, ovoid, slightly ridged schizocarp. Native across Europe, North Africa, and temperate Asia, burnet saxifrage grows in dry grassland, on banks, roadsides, and calcareous slopes, and its pungent root has a long history of use as a medicinal and flavouring herb.