FRINGED PARNASSIA 
Parnassia fimbriata Konig 
Fringed parnassia is a hardy and beautiful plant, closely related to 
the Saxiftage Family. The dainty flower stalks spring from a cluster 
of smooth green leaves, each stem supporting a single creamy white 
flower about an inch across, and the delicate fringes along the sides 
of the petals are a feature seldom found in flowers. The plants grow 
plentifully along rivulets, and on moist banks irrigated by snow- 
water. The size of the plant varies greatly with altitude. In low- 
lying valleys the flower stems may be two feet tall, but on higher 
mountain slopes only an inch or two in length. 
Fringed parnassia is distributed from California and New Mexico 
northward to Alberta and Alaska. 
The plant sketched grew near Lake O'Hara, ten miles from Hec- 
tor, British Columbia, at an altitude of 6,000 feet. 
PLATE 343 
