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Menyanthes trifoliata  (Buckbean)
Menyanthaceae (Buckbean Family)

Montane, subalpine. Ponds. Summer.
Grindstone Lake, August 25, 2007.

Menyanthes trifoliata makes neat little islands of vertical leaves.  It sprouts from stout rhizomes and produces masses of leaves in threes, each one about five inches long.  White flowers with purple hairs appear in early summer and are on stalks just above the leaves. 

Linnaeus named this species in 1753 from specimens collected in Europe.  The plant is circumboreal and in the Northern Hemisphere it is found across Canada and in all western and northern United States.

Menyanthes trifoliata  (Buckbean)
Menyanthaceae (Buckbean Family)

Montane, subalpine. Ponds. Summer.
Grindstone Lake, August 25, 2007.

Looking down through the surface of Grindstone Lake, we can see stems emerging from roots at the bottom of the pond.