The common name of menyanthes trifoliata, bogbean, refers to the leaves, which resemble those of broad beans, especially when young. Menyanthes is a monotypic genus.
Common names:
Bogbean, buckbean
Family:
Scientific name:
Menyanthes trifoliata
Main flower color:
Range:
Scattered across most of the UK, though only locally common. Least widespread in eastern England
Height:
Up to 15 cm
Habitat:
Pond margins, bogs, fens, marshes
Flowers:
On terminal clusters atop leafless stalks. Buds are reddish pink, opening to star-shaped, five-lobed flowers, pale pink underneath, otherwise white. The inner surfaces are fringed with thick white hairs. At the centre are five short stamens around a longer, greenish-yellow pistil, topped with a lobed stigma
Leaves:
Alternate, trifoliate; three ovate, yellowish-green leaflets up to 7 inches long, with branched, pinnate veins, on creeping stems, often submerged
Season:
March to June
Rarity:
★★★★★
