Bogbean

Menyanthes trifoliata

Bean Trefoil Bitter Trefoil Bitterworm Bogbean Brook Bean Buckbean Marsh Trefoil Moonflower Water Shamrock Parts used Uses Habitat and cultivation Constituents How much to take Collection and harvesting Combinations

Bogbean - perennial aquatic plant growing to 9 in (23 cm). Bogbean has trefoil leaves and spikes of pink and white flowers with fringed petals.

Only bees have an easy time finding bogbean, because it grows in often inaccessible bogs and marshes and in cold water. People who are fortunate enough to come upon bogbean in the wild will not confuse it with any other herb, for it is among the most beautiful of water plants. In bud bogbean flowers have a delicate whitish-pink color, and when the petals are fully open they are covered with a soft white fluff, or fringe. Man has long admired the bogbean for its beauty, and he has also used it as an herbal remedy-the leaves contain strong-tasting bitters.

Early European physicians used the leaves of bogbean as a cathartic and a remedy for constipation, fevers, rheumatism, scurvy, scabies, and dropsy (edema, or an abnormal accumulation of fluid). Bogbean also earned a reputation as a tonic and appetite stimulant. Colonists found the bogbean growing wild in America and used it much as they had in Europe. Some Indian tribes boiled the roots and stems of bogbean to make a decoction for spitting blood and other internal problems. The herb was also employed to treat skin diseases, jaundice, and intestinal worms.

PARTS USED

Leaves.

USES

Bogbean is a strongly bitter herb that encourages the appetite and stimulates digestive secretions. Bogbean is commonly taken to improve an under active or weak digestion, particularly if there is abdominal discomfort. This herb is also used as an aid to weight gain; Bogbean is thought to be an effective remedy for rheumatoid arthritis, especially when this condition is associated with weakness, weight loss, and lack of vitality. Bogbean is generally prescribed with other herbs such as celery seed and white willow.

HABITAT AND CULTIVATION

Bogbean is native to Europe and to North America from Labrador to Alaska, south to West Virginia, and as far west as Wyoming. The species is rare or endangered in some states.

CONSTITUENTS

Bogbean contains iridoid glycosides, flavonol glycosides, coumarins, phenolic acids, sterols, triterpenoids, tannins, and very small amounts of pyrrolizidine alkaloids. The iridoids are strongly bitter and stimulate digestive secretions.

HOW MUCH TO TAKE

Infusion: pour a cup of boiling water onto 1-2 teaspoonfuls of the dried herb and leave to infuse for 10 - 15 minutes. This should be drunk three times a day.
Tincture: take 1 - 4 ml of the tincture three times a day.

COLLECTION AND HARVESTING

The leaves are best collected between May and July. They may be dried in the sun or under moderate heat.

COMBINATIONS

For the treatment of rheumatic conditions bogbean will combine well with black cohosh and celery seed.