Menyanthes
Encyclopedia
Menyanthes is a monotypic
genus of flowering plant
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
.
with alternate
, trifoliate leaves. The inflorescence
is an erect raceme of white flower
s.
Menyanthes trifoliata occurs in bogs and marshes in Asia, Europe, and North America. The North American form is often referred to as M. trifoliata var. minor Michx. It is known in English by the common names bog-bean and buckbean, and in German
as Bitterklee or Fieberklee.
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
genus of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
in the family Menyanthaceae
Menyanthaceae
Menyanthaceae are a family of aquatic and wetland plants in the order Asterales. There are approximately 60-70 species in five genera distributed worldwide. The simple or compound leaves arise alternately from a creeping rhizome. In the submersed aquatic genus Nymphoides, leaves are floating and...
containing the single species Menyanthes trifoliata. The name Menyanthes comes from the Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
words menyein, meaning "disclosing", and anthos, meaning "flower", in reference to the sequential opening of flowers on the inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
.
Characteristics
Menyanthes trifoliata is characterized by a horizontal rhizomeRhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
with alternate
Phyllotaxis
In botany, phyllotaxis or phyllotaxy is the arrangement of leaves on a plant stem .- Pattern structure :...
, trifoliate leaves. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is an erect raceme of white flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s.
Menyanthes trifoliata occurs in bogs and marshes in Asia, Europe, and North America. The North American form is often referred to as M. trifoliata var. minor Michx. It is known in English by the common names bog-bean and buckbean, and in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
as Bitterklee or Fieberklee.