Menyantheas trifoliata L.
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.
