While vacationing in the Rivière du Loup area along the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, I kept noticing a very showy, shaggy looking plant along the sides of the road, near wet meadows, at the edges of fields and near old homesteads.
After consulting a Quebec field guide, I discovered that this is Sanguisorbe du Canada or what we call Canadian Burnet in English.
The leaves are pinnate (divided) with 7 – 15 sharply toothed leaflets.
The flowers are in dense spikes and have no petals.
The plant is a late bloomer.
The stems are 30 – 200 cm in height.
Canadian Burnet is common in eastern Quebec and in the Maritimes.
Though the flowering part looks like a Spruce cone, Canadian Burnet is actually a member of the Rose family.
Sanguisorba comes from the Latin names meaning blood and to soak up. These plants have the reputation of being able to soak up blood.
Miles Hearn