212 



PARNASSIACEAE. 



VOL. II. 



gland-tipped staminodia at the base, united into a scale below, or distinct. Fertile 

 stamens 5, alternate with the petals. Ovary superior or half inferior, i-celled ; 

 style very short or none; stigmas visually 4; ovules oo. Capsule I -celled, with 3 

 or 4 placentae projecting within, loculidically 3~4-valved. Seeds numerous. Seed- 

 coat winged. 



i. PARNASSIA [Tourn.] L. Sp. PI. 273. 1753. 



Characters of the family as given above. [From the Greek, mount ; the plant called 

 Grass of Parnassus by Dioscorides.] 



About 15 species, natives of the north temperate and arctic zones. Besides the following, 6 

 or 7 others occur in northwestern America and one in Florida. Type species : Parnassia palustris L. 



Petals sessile ; leaves ovate, oval, orbicular or cordate. 

 Staminodia 3-5 at the base of each petal. 



Flower 9"! 8" broad ; petals much exceeding the calyx-lobes. 

 Staminodia not longer than the stamens, stout. 

 Staminodia longer than the stamens, slender. 

 Flower 4"- 5" broad ; petals equalling the calyx-lobes. 



Staminodia 5-15 at the base of each petal, slender, united into a scale below. 

 Flower i' broad ; leaves cordate at base. 

 Flower 4" 5" broad ; leaves narrowed at base. 

 Petals clawed ; leaves reniform ; staminodia 3 at each petal, distinct. 



1. P. caroliniana. 



2. P. grandifolia. 



3. P. Kotsebuei. 



4. P. palnstris. 



5. P.parviflora. 



6. P. asarifolia. 



i. Parnassia caroliniana Michx. Caro- 

 lina Grass-of-Parnassus. Fig. 2 1 45 . 



Parnassia caroliniana Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. i : 

 184. 1803. 



Scape 6'-24' high, with a nearly sessile ovate 

 clasping leaf below the middle. Basal leaves 

 long-petioled, ovate, broadly oval or orbicular, 

 obtuse at the apex, rounded or sometimes 

 cordate at the base, or decurrent into the 

 petiole, i'-2 f long; flower 9"-! 8" broad; calyx- 

 lobes ovate-oblong, obtuse, much shorter than 

 the sessile broadly oval white greenish-veined 

 petals; staminodia generally 3 in each set, 

 stout, distinct to the base, not longer than the 

 stamens; capsule 4"-5" long. 



In swamps and low meadows. New Brunswick 

 to Manitoba, south to Virginia, Illinois and Iowa ; 

 Carolina? June-Sept. 



2. Parnassia grandifolia DC. Large- 

 leaved Grass-of-Parnassus. Fig. 2146. 



Parnassia grandifolia DC. Prodr. i: 320. 1824. 



Similar to the preceding species, the scape 

 bearing an ovate clasping leaf at the middle 

 or much below it. Basal leaves as in P. 

 caroliniana, but often larger and narrowed at 

 the base ; flower i'-2' broad ; calyx-lobes shorter 

 than the sessile white petals; staminodia 3-5 

 in each set, slender or almost filiform, united 

 only at the base, exceeding the anther-bearing 

 stamens. 



In moist soil, southwestern Virginia to Flor- 

 ida, Missouri and Louisiana. Ascends to 2200 

 ft. in Virginia. July-Sept. 



