buck·bean  (bŭk'bēn')  n. A perennial herb (Menyanthes trifoliata) native to the Northern Hemisphere and having trifoliate leaves and clusters of white, pink, or purplish flowers. [Translation of Flemish bocks boonen, goat's beans : bocks, genitive of bock, goat + boonen, pl. of boon, bean.] |
buckbean
member of the flowering plant family Menyanthaceae of the order Asterales, consisting of 5 genera and 58 species of aquatic or marsh herbs with creeping stems, native to temperate areas of the world. Some species have single leaves that alternate along the stem; others have leaves composed of three leaflets that have sheathing leafstalks.
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