buckbean n : perennial plant of Europe and America having racemes of white or purplish flowers and intensely bitter trifoliate leaves; often rooting at water margin and spreading across the surface [syn: water shamrock, bogbean, bog myrtle, marsh trefoil, Menyanthes trifoliata]

Menyanthes is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the family Menyanthaceae. The name Menyanthes comes from the Greek words menyein, meaning "disclosing", and anthos, meaning "flower", in reference to the sequential opening of flowers on the inflorescence.

Menyanthes trifoliata is characterized by a horizontal rhizome with alternate, trifoliate leaves. The inflorescence is an erect raceme of white flowers.

Menyanthes trifoliata occurs in bogs and marshes in Asia, Europe, and North America. The North American form is often referred to as M. trifoliata var. minor Michx. It is known in English by the common names bog-bean and buckbean, and in German as Bitterklee or Fieberklee.

External links

• USDA Plants Profile
• Photo gallery