BUR'NET ( OF. Grande: ef. Med. Lat. Gar ride, springwort). The name of two allied and often united genera of lIosaeelu—Sanguisorba and Poterium. Sanguisorba has hermaphrodite flow ers with four stamens; in Potcrium the flowers are polygamous and the stamens indefinite in number. In both the calyx is four-parted and the corolla wanting. The great burnet (San guisorba offieinalis) is cominon in meadows in all parts of Europe, particularly where the soil is calcareous. It has a stem 1 to 2 feet high, pinnate leaves, with about tour pairs of ovate serrated leaflets and an odd one; the flowers are crowded in dark-red spikes. In Germany it is grown as a forage crop for cattle. The root is astringent, and was formerly used in medicine. The common or lesser hornet (Potcrium sun guisorGa) grows on dry. calcareous soils in Eng land and in Central and Southern Europe. It much resembles the great burnet, but the leaf lets are smaller, and the reddish-green flowers are arranged in dense heads on long furrowed stalks. It is very resistant to drouth and cold,
and its culture for forage has been recommended on dry, calcareous soils. Although it forms a great part of the natural pasture of the South Downs and other sheep-raising districts of Eng land, it is not generally regarded as a very val uable forage plant. It is sometimes cultivated in gardens for its slightly astringent leaves, which are used for flavoring soups and salads. This plant has been introduced into North America, and grows wild in the northeastern part of the United States. Both this and the preceding are perennial plants. There are several other spe cies, both of Sanguiso•ba and Poterium. sonic of the latter shrubby, natives chiefly of the warmer temperate parts of the world. Potcrium Cana dense is found in the northeastern United States.