Pimpinella saxifraga Burnet-saxifrage C DD N
The very variable shapes of the rosette leaves in this plant make identification quite tricky particularly if you need to distinguish it from P. major (Greater Burnet-saxifrage). To make matters worse it can be quite small in impoverished chalk or limestone grassland for instance but can also reach heights of nearly 1 m tall. Another source of confusion is the common name. It is not a Saxifrage but an Umbellifer.
The stems are solid in P. saxifraga and tend to have no or indistinct ridges unlike P. major.
P saxifraga is fond throughout England and Wales and is also common in southern Scotland and much of Ireland. Records become fewer in the far north and west of Scotland but it has been recorded on the north coast.
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| Pimpinella saxifraga Burnet-saxifrage |
Shore of Loch Insh, Scotland 26th July 2009
Added on June 20th 2011, updated 23rd August 2018