Sanguisorba canadensisL.

Canadian burnet

WFO wfo-0001017645 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Sanguisorba canadensis, photographed by Ryan Sorrells
fig. a Ryan Sorrells, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-09-28 / obs. 160345074
Sanguisorba canadensis, photographed by Alexis Godin
fig. b Alexis Godin, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 158471309
Sanguisorba canadensis, photographed by Renee MacQuarrie
fig. c Renee MacQuarrie, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 149280302
Sanguisorba canadensis, photographed by Renee MacQuarrie
fig. d Renee MacQuarrie, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 149272515
Sanguisorba canadensis, photographed by agbelliveau
fig. e agbelliveau, CC0 1.0 / obs. 147596964
Sanguisorba canadensis, photographed by Elias
fig. f Elias, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 145994172
Sanguisorba canadensis, photographed by Ryan Sorrells
fig. g Ryan Sorrells, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 143330250
Sanguisorba canadensis, photographed by Ryan Sorrells
fig. h Ryan Sorrells, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 143329404

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 28 botanical countries

Regions where Sanguisorba canadensis is native: Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Labrador, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Newfoundland, North Carolina, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Québec, Rhode I., South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia ConnecticutGeorgiaIllinoisIndianaKentuckyLabradorMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganNew BrunswickNew HampshireNew JerseyNew YorkNewfoundlandNorth CarolinaNova ScotiaOhioPennsylvaniaQuébecSouth CarolinaTennesseeVermontVirginiaWest Virginia DelawareDistrict of ColumbiaRhode I.
Native distribution of Sanguisorba canadensis, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Connecticut CNT NORTHERN AMERICA
Delaware DEL
District of Columbia WDC
Georgia GEO
Illinois ILL
Indiana INI
Kentucky KTY
Labrador LAB
Maine MAI
Maryland MRY
Massachusetts MAS
Michigan MIC
New Brunswick NBR
New Hampshire NWH
New Jersey NWJ
New York NWY
Newfoundland NFL
North Carolina NCA
Nova Scotia NSC
Ohio OHI
Pennsylvania PEN
Québec QUE
Rhode I. RHO
South Carolina SCA
Tennessee TEN
Vermont VER
Virginia VRG
West Virginia WVA

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 2 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Poterium canadense (L.) A.Gray
  • Sanguisorba canadensis subsp. canadensis

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.