Bogbean

Menyantheas trifoliata L.

Figure 25.—Bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata)

Other common names.—Buck bean, bog myrtle, bog hop, bog nut, brook bean, bean trefoil, marsh trefoil, water trefoil, bitter trefoil, water shamrock, marsh clover, moonflower, bitterworm.

Habitat and range.—The bogbean is a northern marsh herb occurring in North America as far south as Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and California.

Description.—This herb arises from a long, black, creeping, scaly rootstock, the leaves being produced from the end of the same on erect stems measuring about 2 to 10 inches in height. The leaves consist of three somewhat fleshy, smooth leaflets 1 1/2 to 3 inches long. The flower cluster is produced from May to July on a long, thick, naked stalk arising from the rootstock. It bears from 10 to 20 flowers each, with a funnel-shaped tube terminating in five segments which are pinkish purple or whitish on the outside and whitish and bearded on the inside.

Part used.—The leaves, collected in the spring.