SAXIFRAGACEAE SAXIFRAGE FAMILY 
GRASS OF PARNASSUS 
Parnassia caroliniana Michx. 
The Grass of Parnassus is a pretty perennial herb which 
grows in swamps and wet meadows from New Brunswick to 
Manitoba and south to Virginia and Iowa. It is common in the 
swampy parts of the Waukegan 
flats along Lake Michigan and 
in the bogs of Lake county but 
is not found in the central and 
southern parts of the state. 
The unbranched flowering 
stem grows 6-24 inches high 
and bears a single terminal 
flower and 1 sessile clasping 
leaf somewhat below the mid- 
dle. There are also several 
basal leaves on long petioles. 
The flower blooms from 
July to September and pro- 
duces an abundance of nectar. 
The calyx is small and 5-lobed 
nearly to the base. The 5 
petals are white or creamy and 
delicately veined with pale | 
green lines. Five fertile sta- \, / 
mens with rather large anthers \" 
alternate with the petals, and \ 
at the base of each petal is a \ 
cluster of 3-5 imperfect sta- \ 
mens, called staminodia, each 
of which is tipped with a N ¢ 
nectar gland. The pistil consists of an ovary 
and 4 stigmas but no style. It develops into 
a capsule containing many small, winged seeds. 
Beyond the queen hydrangeas splendid rule 
Barbaric marigolds; chrysanthemums 
Outshine gladioli, and sunflowers flaunt 
Their crests of gold beneath the giant gourds. 
The Garden in August—GeERTRUDE HUNTINGTON McGIFFERT 
141 
