grass of Parnassus
Parnassia
The genus Parnassia, also known as grass of Parnassus or bog-stars, are flowering plants now placed in the family Celastraceae, formerly classified in Parnassiaceae or Saxifragaceae. The plants occur in arctic and alpine habitats, as well as in dune systems and fens, swamps, wet meadows, open seepage areas, moist woods, and across the Northern Hemisphere. It is actually not a grass, but an herbaceous dicot. The stalk of the plant can reach up to 200 millimeters (8 in), the leaves up to 100 mm (4 in) and the petals can be up to 36 mm (1.4 in) wide. The flower has five white petals with light green venation. There are five stamens alternating with 5 much divided staminodes tipped with drop-like false nectaries which (along with the visual cue of veins) attract pollinating flies and bees.
Some species are often found in wet calcareous habitats with low fertility, low canopy cover, and high plant diversity. Parnassia glauca is considered to be an indicator species of fens in New York State. Such habitats are often becoming rare, and so species of Parnassia may have high conservation value. For example Parnassia palustris is threatened and legally protected in Michigan while Parnassia caroliniana is considered imperiled in North Carolina.
57 branches of this genus, most-observed first
marsh grass-of-Parnassus
speciesParnassia palustris
Fringed Grass of Parnassus
speciesParnassia fimbriata
fen grass of Parnassus
speciesParnassia glauca
Kidney-leaved Grass of Parnassus
speciesParnassia asarifolia
bigleaf grass-of-parnassus
speciesParnassia grandifolia
Kotzebue's Grass-of-Parnassus
speciesParnassia kotzebuei
San Bernardino Grass of Parnassus
speciesParnassia cirrata
Carolina grass-of-parnassus
speciesParnassia caroliniana
small-flowered grass-of-parnassus
speciesParnassia parviflora
Parnassia laxmannii
speciesParnassia laxmannii
Eastern bog star
speciesParnassia wightiana
Parnassia delavayi
speciesParnassia delavayi
Himalayan bog star
speciesParnassia nubicola
Parnassia trinervis
speciesParnassia trinervis
Parnassia foliosa
speciesParnassia foliosa
Parnassia oreophila
speciesParnassia oreophila
Parnassia brevistyla
speciesParnassia brevistyla
Parnassia petitmenginii
speciesParnassia petitmenginii
Parnassia chinensis
speciesParnassia chinensis
Parnassia mysorensis
speciesParnassia mysorensis
Parnassia cacuminum
speciesParnassia cacuminum
Parnassia yunnanensis
speciesParnassia yunnanensis
Parnassia tenella
speciesParnassia tenella
Parnassia noemiae
speciesParnassia noemiae
Parnassia gansuensis
speciesParnassia gansuensis
Parnassia bifolia
speciesParnassia bifolia
Parnassia amoena
speciesParnassia amoena
Parnassia submysorensis
speciesParnassia submysorensis
Parnassia pusilla
speciesParnassia pusilla
Parnassia cabulica
speciesParnassia cabulica
Parnassia epunctulata
speciesParnassia epunctulata
Parnassia faberi
speciesParnassia faberi
Parnassia alpicola
speciesParnassia alpicola
Parnassia cooperi
speciesParnassia cooperi
Parnassia longipetala
speciesParnassia longipetala
Parnassia crassifolia
speciesParnassia crassifolia
Parnassia perciliata
speciesParnassia perciliata
Parnassia procul
speciesParnassia procul
Parnassia scaposa
speciesParnassia scaposa
Parnassia townsendii
speciesParnassia townsendii
Parnassia yui
speciesParnassia yui
Parnassia davidii
speciesParnassia davidii
Parnassia esquirolii
speciesParnassia esquirolii
Parnassia farreri
speciesParnassia farreri
Parnassia filchneri
speciesParnassia filchneri
Parnassia guilinensis
speciesParnassia guilinensis
Parnassia kumaonica
speciesParnassia kumaonica
Parnassia labiata
speciesParnassia labiata
Parnassia lutea
speciesParnassia lutea
Parnassia monochorifolia
speciesParnassia monochorifolia
Parnassia obovata
speciesParnassia obovata
Parnassia omeiensis
speciesParnassia omeiensis
Parnassia zhengyuana
speciesParnassia zhengyuana
Parnassia pseudoalpicola
speciesParnassia pseudoalpicola
Parnassia simianshanensis
speciesParnassia simianshanensis
Parnassia siamensis
speciesParnassia siamensis
Parnassia xinganensis
speciesParnassia xinganensis
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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In the old herbals & bestiaries
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Parnassia in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 61837.