BUCK-BEAN

buck-bean, or bog-bean (_menyanthes trifoliata_, a member of the gentian family), a bog-plant with a creeping stem, alternately arranged large leaves each with three leaflets, and spikes of white or pink flowers. the stout stem is bitter and has tonic and febrifuge properties. the plant is widely distributed through the north temperate zone. buckeburg, a town of germany, capital of the principality of schaumburg-lippe, pleasantly situated at the foot of the harrelberg on the river aue, 6 m. from minden, on the main railway from cologne to berlin. pop. 6000. it has a palace standing in extensive grounds, a gymnasium, a normal seminary, a library, a synagogue, and three churches, one of which has the appropriate inscription, _religionis non structurae exemplum_. the first houses of buckeburg began to gather round the castle about 1365; and it was not till the 17th century that the town was surrounded with walls, which have given place to a ring of pretty promenades. the poet j.g. von herder was court preacher here from 1771 to 1776.