WILD FLOWERS OF NEW YORK 125 



Common in ditches and swampy places, New Brunswick to Florida, 

 west to Nebraska, Kansas and Texas. Flowering from July to September. 



Not a very attractive plant, but the only American representative 

 of the Penthoraceae (Virginia Stonecrop family), which is joined with 

 the Saxifrage family by some authors and to the Orpine family by others. 



Grass-of-Parnassus Family 



P a r n a s s i a c e a e 

 Carolina Grass-of-Parnassus 



Puniussia caroliiiiaua Michaux 



Plate ss 



Flowering scape 6 to 20 inches high, with a sessile, ovate, clasping 

 leaf below the middle. Basal leaves very numerous, ovate, oval, or nearly 

 orbicular, obtuse at the apex, rounded or slightly cordate at the base, or 

 decurrent on the petiole, i to 2 inches long, on petioles 2 to 6 inches long. 

 Flowers three-fourths to i\ inches broad; calyx lobes five, ovate-oblong, 

 obtuse and much shorter than the five broadly oval, white, greenish veined 

 petals; each petal with a set (usually three) of gland-tipped staminodia at 

 the base which do not exceed the five fertile stamens in length, the latter 

 alternate with the petals. Fruit a one-celled capsule about one-half of an 

 inch long. 



In swamps, low meadows and boggy places, New Brunswick to Mani- 

 toba, south to Virginia, Illinois and Iowa. Flowering from July to Sep- 

 tember, rarely earlier than July in our latitude. At Taberg growing on wet 

 cliffs with the Yellow Mountain Saxifrage and Dwarf Canadian Primrose. 



Saxifrage Family 



Saxifragaceae 

 Yellow Mountain Saxifrage 



Leptasea aizoides (Linnaeus) Haworth 



Plate 82b 



Stems tufted, forming loose or dense leafy mats, 2 to 7 inches high. 

 Leaves alternate, linear, thick, fleshy, sharply pointed at the apex, sessile, 



