Buckbean, bogbean • Menyanthes trifoliata
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Buckbean growing in Calvert Island bogs. Photos by Brian Starzomski (top left), Ian Cruickshank (bottom left), and Katy Fulton.
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Identification
Buckbean is an aquatic or semi-aquatic perennial with flowering stems to 30 cm tall. Frilly white funnel-shaped flowers form clusters atop stems; long-stalked leaves gather around the base of the flowering stems. The leaves are divided into three short-stalked elliptical leaflets. Buckbean appears to grow upright from pools of water, however a large portion of its stem may grow horizontally or diagonally underwater. Buckbean flowers are very pungent.
Habitat & Range
Buckbean grows in shallow water in bogs, fens, ponds, lake shores, and marshes. It is found from low to middle elevations and has a circumpolar distribution across much of North America as well as Iceland and Eurasia.
Human Uses
Buckbean has a variety of historical and traditional medicinal uses. It was used to treat rheumatism, jaundice, fevers, migraines, scurvy, and gastrointestinal concerns. In some parts of Europe and in northern England buckbean leaves replaced hops in beer.
Buckbean is an aquatic or semi-aquatic perennial with flowering stems to 30 cm tall. Frilly white funnel-shaped flowers form clusters atop stems; long-stalked leaves gather around the base of the flowering stems. The leaves are divided into three short-stalked elliptical leaflets. Buckbean appears to grow upright from pools of water, however a large portion of its stem may grow horizontally or diagonally underwater. Buckbean flowers are very pungent.
Habitat & Range
Buckbean grows in shallow water in bogs, fens, ponds, lake shores, and marshes. It is found from low to middle elevations and has a circumpolar distribution across much of North America as well as Iceland and Eurasia.
Human Uses
Buckbean has a variety of historical and traditional medicinal uses. It was used to treat rheumatism, jaundice, fevers, migraines, scurvy, and gastrointestinal concerns. In some parts of Europe and in northern England buckbean leaves replaced hops in beer.
References
Bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata). ARKive.org. Accessed 06/01/2015.
Menyanthes trifoliata L. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 06/01/2015.
Pojar, J. and MacKinnon, A. (1994). Plants of Coastal British Columbia. Vancouver, BC: Lone Pine Publishing. P.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2015).
Bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata). ARKive.org. Accessed 06/01/2015.
Menyanthes trifoliata L. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 06/01/2015.
Pojar, J. and MacKinnon, A. (1994). Plants of Coastal British Columbia. Vancouver, BC: Lone Pine Publishing. P.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2015).
