broadened above, petaloid, conspicuous because of the early falling of the petals; 

 mature fruits to 1 cm. long, twice as long as broad. Micranthes arguta (D.Don) 

 Small. 



On wet slopes, in wet meadows, about lakes and along streams in mts. of N.M. 

 (Grant, San Miguel, Santa Fe, Socorro and Taos cos.) and Ariz. (Apache Co.), 

 July-Aug.; Mont, to B.C., s. to N.M., Ariz, and Calif. 



5. Saxifraga rhomboidea Greene. 



Acaulescent plants; leaves in a basal rosette, rhombic-ovate to ovate, 2-6 cm. 

 long (including the petiole that is rarely longer than the blade), cuneate at base, 

 obtuse at apex, usually somewhat crenate or dentate, glabrous or with the margins 

 ciliate; scapes 1-3 dm. tall, glandular-pubescent to rarely glabrate; inflorescence at 

 first capitate, eventually interrupted-thyrsiform; sepals ovate to oval, 1.5-3.5 mm. 

 long, erect; petals oblong-obovate, 2.5-4 mm. long, often emarginate at apex and 

 clawed at base; filaments not clavate; capsule 3-4.5 mm. long, often purplish. 

 Micranthes rhomboidea (Greene) Small. 



Wet alpine meadows in N. M. (Colfax, San Miguel, Santa Fe and Taos cos.) 

 and Ariz. (Apache to Coconino and Gila cos.), Apr. -July; Mont. s. to N. M. and 

 Ariz. 



4. Parnassia L. Grass-of-Parnassus 



Perennial glabrous herbs with short rootstocks and with a scapelike stem; leaves 

 simple, entire, mostly basal and petioled, the single cauline leaf sessile; scape 

 typically 1 -flowered; hypanthium short and usually poorly developed; sepals 5, 

 imbricated in bud; petals 5, imbricated in bud, white, conspicuously greenish- or 

 yellowish-veined, deciduous; stamens 5, persistent and alternate with the petals 

 and with 5 clusters of more or less united staminodia that are gland-bearing at the 

 ends; ovary 1-celled, superior to half-inferior; style short or none; stigmas 4, 

 sessile; capsule 1-celled, 4-valved. 



About 50 species in the Northern Hemisphere. Segregated by some authors as 

 a monogeneric family, Parnassiaceae. 



1. Distribution in eastern Texas (2) 



1. Distribution in mountains of New Mexico and Arizona (3) 



2(1). Leaves reniform; petals with claw; staminodes 5-9 mm. long, equaling or 

 shorter than the stamens 1. P. asarifolia. 



2. Leaves suborbicular-ovate; petals sessile; staminodes 12-15 mm. long, conspicu- 



ously longer than the stamens 2. P. grandifolia. 



3(1). Petals entire 3. P. parviflora. 



3. Petals fimbriate on the sides near the base 4. P. fimbriata. 



1. Parnassia asarifolia Vent. Fig. 486. 



Flowering stem 2-5 dm. high; basal leaves with petioles to 15 cm. long, broadly 

 reniform, 3-4 cm. long, wider than long; cauline leaf about or below middle of 

 stem, similar to but smaller than the basal leaves; petals oblong-elliptic, contracted 

 at base into a claw, 12-18 mm. long, with 11 to 15 radiating veins; staminodia 

 3-pronged, usually slightly shorter than the stamens, 5-9 mm. long, united for one 

 fifth to two fifths their length. 



In sphagnum moss of evergreen shrub bogs in e. Tex., rare, Sept.-Nov.; from 

 Va. and W.Va., s. to Ga. and Tex. 



2. Parnassia grandifolia DC. Fig. 487. 



Flowering stems to 4 dm. tall; basal leaves with petioles to 15 cm. long, thick 

 and firm, ovate to suborbicular, usually subcordate at base, to 1 dm. long and 8 

 cm. wide; cauline leaf ovate to suborbicular-ovate, usually borne below the middle 



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