Menyanthes trifoliata (Bog Bean)

Menyanthes trifoliata (Bog Bean) is a rhizomatous, emergent aquatic perennial with flower stalks and leaves held well above the water. The olive-green leaves feature 3 large, long-stalked, elliptic leaflets, 4 in. long (10 cm) and markedly veined. The foliage grows from a creeping rhizome that floats onto the water’s surface. In spring to late summer, upright racemes of white or purple-tinged, star-shaped flowers, 1 in. across (2.5 cm), are borne atop stout stalks, about as high as the foliage. The upper surface of the petals is fringed with white hair, which aids in both collecting pollen and attracting pollinators such as bees, bumblebees, hummingbirds, flies, and butterflies. Bog Bean typically grows in shallow water in pond or lake margins and bogs and spreads from thick spongy rhizomes to form large colonies.

• Grows up to 10-12 in. tall (25-30 cm) and 12-24 in. wide (30-60 cm). It can spread aggressively when not restrained by container plantings.
• Thrives in full sun to part shade in baskets in a large pond in water up to 10 in. deep (25 cm), or grows in muddy pool margins. Grow in full sun to promote flowering.
• Great for water gardens, bog gardens, along ponds and streams.
• Virtually pest and disease-free.
• Cut back after flowering.
• Propagate by division.
• Native to much of Asia, Europe, and North America.