FRINGED PARNASSIA 



Parnassia fimbriata Konig 



Fringed parnassia is a hardy and beautiful plant, closely related to 

 the Saxifrage 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 



