Menyanthes trifoliata.
Botanical name:
Menyanthes trifoliata Linn. Gentianeae. Buckbean. Marsh Trefoil.
Northern Europe, Asia and America. The intense bitter of the leaves of the buckbean has led to its use as a substitute for hops in brewing. Large quantities are said to be collected for the adulteration of beer. It has long been employed in Sweden for this purpose. In Lapland and Finland, the rhizomes are sometimes powdered, washed to get rid of the bitter principle and then made into a kind of bread. In the outer Hebrides, when there is a deficiency of tobacco, the islanders console themselves by chewing the root of the marsh trefoil which has a bitter and acrid taste.
Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World, 1919, was edited by U. P. Hedrick.
