Latin Name: Menyanthes trifoliata
Common name: Bog Bean
- This is our Christmas plant of the month – an accolade it receives purely on its Christmassy looks!
- Flowering from late March until June, the white, starry flowers of the Bogbean bring life to everything green that surrounds it.
- Its common name comes from the leaves which are shaped like little broad beans.
- Found in shallow ponds, fens, marshes and bogs, the flowers grow above the water on tall stems.
- It’s a valuable native plant that forms floating mats which provide egg laying site for dragonfly as well as being roosting and perching sites for them.
- Damselfly nymphs use the stems to climb out of the water ready for their metamorphosis into adults.
- Although this will flower best when placed in full sun, it will grow in the shade.
- Needs space to spread, so not really suitable for small ponds.