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buck bean

noun
  1. a bog plant, Menyanthes trifoliata, of the gentian family, having narrow clusters of white or pink flowers.

Origin of buck bean

1570–80; earlier buckes bean, translation of Dutch boksboon
Also called bogbean, marsh trefoil.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for buck bean

Historical Examples of buck bean

  • The bog-bean, or buck-bean, with white lace-like flowers may be seen occasionally in stagnant swamps.

    The Thames

    G. E. Mitton

  • In the next meadow they came upon beds of Menyanthes—an ugly name, and its common one of buck-bean is not much better.