Medicinal Monday - Buckbean

Buckbean is a woodland ephemeral that blooms in the spring for a short time. It is the only member of the genus Menyanthes native to North America. Buckbean can be found in Connecticut. Today it is protected in the United States. Its bitter-tasting leaves and other parts of this plant have been used in traditional Native American medicine.

About Buckbean

Buckbean can usually be found growing in bogs, marshes, and on the edges of wetlands. This aquatic flower is a hermaphrodite with both male and female parts and is pollinated by bees, moths, and butterflies. Buckbean can grow up to ten inches and its three rounded leaflets gather around the base of the flowering stems. In May and early June, clusters of white or purple-tinged star-shaped flowers emerge. Buckbean flowers are very fragrant. The short hairs of the flowers on five or six pointed lobes give it a fuzzy appearance. The fruit is a capsule that contains many seeds that are shaped like beans giving this wildflower its name.

photo K. Ziarnek

Medicinal and Culinary Uses

Buckbean has a long history of culinary use. Many Native American communities traditionally dried and ground the rootstocks into flour for bread and cakes.

Medicinally, one of the most common traditional uses was to treat stomach aches and gas pains and as an aid to help digestion. It was also used as an emetic. An infusion of the dried leaves was used to treat rheumatism and skin diseases. The Aleut made a compound of the roots to make a laxative, and the Kwakiuti made a decoction of the stem and roots and drank it to spit blood; they also took this decoction to gain weight.

F. Vasen

Did You Know...

In some parts of Europe, the bitter leaves of this plant were used as a substitute for hops in flavoring beer and they were also boiled in honey to make mead.

Another name for buckbean is bog bean.

Its scientific name is Menyanthes trifoliata. Trifoliata is a reference to its three leaflets. The name Menyanthes comes from a Greek water plant.

As a plant of the wetlands, it has little impact on the lives of wildlife; however, several bird species use it as part of their breeding area.

The Qing Dynasty used it as a sleeping aid.