Menyanthes

Menyanthes is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Menyanthaceae containing the single species Menyanthes trifoliata. 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. The North American form is often referred to as M. trifoliata var. minor Michx. It is known in English by the common names bogbean[1] and buckbean.

Menyanthes
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Menyanthaceae
Genus: Menyanthes
L.
Species:
M. trifoliata
Binomial name
Menyanthes trifoliata
A bog-bean dominated habitat in Ayrshire, Scotland

Characteristics

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

Menyanthes trifoliata occurs in fens and bogs in Asia, Europe, and North America. In eastern North America, it is considered to be a diagnostic fen species.[2] It sometimes creates big quagmires with its thick roots.

It has a characteristic strong and bitter taste, which can be used in schnapps.

Menyanthes trifoliata are also known as "Sleeping herbs 睡菜" or "Herbs that calm consciousness 暝菜" in Chinese,

  • In 1678, in the Qing Dynasty, a book written by Chiu-Da-Jun: "Guangdong Xing Yu" has been recorded: "Eat Menyanthes trifoliata makes people sleep well."
  • Compendium of Materia Medica has been recorded: " Treating insomnia, restlessness"

Fossil record

One fossil seed of Menyanthes trifoliata has been extracted from borehole samples of the Middle Miocene fresh water deposits in Nowy Sacz Basin, West Carpathians, Poland.[3]

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References
  1. "BSBI List 2007". Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-01-25. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  2. Godwin, Kevin S.; Shallenberger, James P.; Leopold, Donald J.; Bedford, Barbara L. (2002). "Linking landscape properties to local hydrogeologic gradients and plant species occurrence in minerotrophic fens of New York State, USA: A Hydrogeologic Setting (HGS) framework". Wetlands. 22 (4): 722–37. doi:10.1672/0277-5212(2002)022[0722:LLPTLH]2.0.CO;2.
  3. Łańcucka-Środoniowa M.: Macroscopic plant remains from the freshwater Miocene of the Nowy Sącz Basin (West Carpathians, Poland) [Szczątki makroskopowe roślin z miocenu słodkowodnego Kotliny Sądeckiej (Karpaty Zachodnie, Polska)]. Acta Palaeobotanica 1979 20 (1): 3-117.
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