Menyanthaceae: Menyanthes trifoliata L.
(buckbean, bogbean)
Buckbean is a rhizomatous, perennial wetland species common in quiet, shallow, waters of neutral to acidic pH. It has trifoliate leaves and a crowded racemose inflorescence with showy, bisexual, 5-parted, white or pink tinged, fringed flowers. The flowers have a rank smell that attracts flies and beetles. The fruit is a capsule containing shiny, yellowish-brown seeds. A circumboreal species broadly distributed in Canada and the U.S. except from New Mexico and Texas east to South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
Sources | Selected Web Resources | Line Drawing
Click on images for larger versions.
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June 9, 2005. Halifax County: Lawrencetown Lake area Photographer: JackPine. |
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The flower is approximately 25 mm across. |
Selected Web Resources
- Taxonomic Status (ITIS) Copy the species name above and paste it into a form on this ITIS Canada page to confirm the nomenclature and list synonyms.
- NatureServe Explorer Copy the species name above and paste it into a form on this page to view a map of its distribution within North America and its conservation status by province and state.
Page posted 13 Dec. 2007. Modified 7 Dec. 2008.
Copyright © Nova Scotia Wild Flora Society & Photographers