Also known in Webb's Irish Flora (1977) as Bearnán lachan, this extremely pretty little plant loves having its feet wet. From March to June, Bogbean can be found in shallow water, fens, bogs and slow flowing water such as canals. It has short, creeping, stems – usually well below the surface of the water – and extremely attractive flowers, held in terminal racemes. The star-shaped, pink/white flowers (15mm across) have five petals which are fringed with long white hairs and are a joy to examine through a hand-lens. The trifoliate leaves are clearly held above the surface of the water and, like the plant, are hairless. . It is a native, perennial plant which belongs to the family Menyanthaceae.
I first identified this most attractive plant growing in the Grand Canal at Hazelhatch, Co Kildare in 1980 and photographed it in 2009 at Fenor Bog, Co Waterford.
If you are satisfied you have correctly identified this plant, please submit your sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre
