PARNASSIA. 631 
to the regularity of the workmanfhip; but even the bed than the reft, as it fheds its pollen on the orifice of the 
of them are exceedingly defective in ftyle and fpirit, fo germen, which clofes as foon as all the antherae have filed 
that they are eafily diftinguiftied upon comparifon. Good 
impreftions of the originals are very rare; fuch, I mean, as 
are not re-touched. From the foulnefs of the copperupon 
which he engraved, and the little (kill he had in managing 
the aquafortis, his etchings are feldom clear or perfect in 
their appearance, though fome indeed are greatly fupe- 
rior to others in this refpeCt ; and thofe perhaps he exe¬ 
cuted in the latter part of his life. It is alfo laid he en¬ 
graved many prints on wooden blocks in chiarofcuro; 
but it is much more likely, as Bafan juftly obferves, that 
he was only the defigner and director of thefe works, and 
that they were executed by Ugo da Carpi, Andrea An- 
dreani, and other mailers.” 
Parmigiano’s coufin and pupil Giralamo has been al¬ 
ready noticed under his proper name Mazzuolo, vol. 
xiv. p. 585. 
PARMILLIEU', a town of France, in the department 
of the Ifere : twenty-four miles eaft-north-eaft of Lyons. 
PARMON'CA, a town of Peru, in the audience of 
Lima, near the fea: thirty-five miles north-north-weft of 
Gu aura. 
PARNAPIACA'BA, a river of Brafil, which runs 
into the Atlantic in lat. 24. 12. S. 
PARNAS'SA, a town of Hindooftan : fifteen miles 
fouth-fouth-eaft of Allahabad. 
PAR NAS'S I A, f. [altered by Tournefort from the old 
name of Gramen Parnaffi, which has been appropriated 
to this moll curious and elegant plant, becaufeit appears 
really to be what Diofcorides terms the Grafs of Parnaflus. 
Not that it has any thing to do with the graffes, properly 
fo called ; but he defcribes it as “ having ivy-like leaves, 
a white and pleafantly-fcented flower, with fmall not in¬ 
effectual feed, five or fix roots-as thick as the finger, 
white and foft.” This defcription fufficiently anfwers to 
our Parnaflia, except that we know of no fmell in the 
flowers.] In botany, a genus of the clafs pentandria, or¬ 
der tetragynia, natural order cam panaceas, Linn. MSS. 
(capparides, Juff.) Generic characters—Calyx : perian- 
thium inferior, in five, deep, elliptic-oblong, fpreading, 
permanent fegments. Corolla: petals five, roundifli, 
ftriated, concave, fpreading; neCtaries five, oppoiite to 
the petals, each a roundifli or oblong flefliy fcale, fringed 
with from three to thirteen ereCt marginal ftalks, bearing 
every one a fmall globe, fhorter than the petals. Stamina: 
filaments five, awl-ftiaped, the length of the neCtaries, 
feparately inflexed for a time over the germen ; antherae 
incumbent, deprelfed. Piftillum: germen fuperior, ovate, 
large, fefiile ; ftyle none, but an aperture in its place; 
ftigmas four, obtufe, permanent, enlarged in the fruit. 
Pericarpium : capfule ovate, fomewhat quadrangular, of 
one cell and four valves, the partitions from the centre 
of each valve, each bearing a furrowed parallel receptacle. 
Seeds feveral, oblong, afcending. — EJJential Character. 
Calyx in five deep fegments ; petals five ; neCtaries five, 
fringed with ftalked globules; capfule of four-valves, 
with many feeds. There are four fpecies. 
1. Parnaflia paluftris, common rnarlh-parnaflia, or grafs 
of Parnaflus : leaves heart-ftiaped ; petals leflile, emargi- 
nate ; neCtaries with numerous fegments. Root peren¬ 
nial, fmall, whitifh, fibrous; putting forth feveral Items 
and leaves in tufts. Stems ereCt, unbranched, fomewhat 
twifted, having five (harp corners, a fpan high, (lender, 
fmooth, having only a Angle embracing leaf below the 
middle, and a (ingle flower at the top. Root-leaves pe- 
tioled, ovate, pointed, quite entire, bright green above, 
underneath cinereous, fmooth, netted, nine lines long, 
fix or (even lines wide. Petioles grooved above, and an 
inch and half long. Corolla near an inch in diameter : 
petals a little fcalloped at the edges, (lightly emarginate, 
white with femitranfparent greyilh veins. NeCtaries green, 
the globules yellow, from ten to fifteen, generally thir¬ 
teen. Stamens only half as long as the petals, at firft not 
longer than the germen, but each in order becomes longer 
their pollen. Linnaeus alfo obferves, that, whilft this 
plant is in flower, the germen is open at the top, that 
the ftamens lay their antherae alternately upon the orifice, 
and, having difcharged their pollen, recede to the petals. 
The elegant nectaries, terminated by threads, each tipt 
with a little yellow pellucid fphere, fufficiently diltinguifh 
this plant. Capfule .ovate-globular, terminated by the 
four reflex ftigmas, obfoletely four-grooved, one-celled 
or incompletely four-celled, four-valved. Receptacles 
four, fpongy, oblong, narrow. Seeds irregular like faw- 
duft, with an oblong turgid nucleus in the middle, and 
furrounded with a membranaceous rim at the fide, of a 
ruflet colour. The neClary of this plant has been fhown 
on the Botany Plate VIII. fig. 25. and the fructification 
on Plate XI. fig. 18-22. of the fame article, vol. iii. 
Parnaflia is a native of mod parts of Europe, by the 
fide of bogs and moors, and in wet meadows ; flowering- 
in July and Auguft. Dr. Sibthorp gathered it on the Bi- 
thynian Olympus; and there is every reafon to believe it 
may grow on Parnaflus, and other Grecian hills; wdiereas 
Convallaria bifolia, which fome botanifts fuppofe to be 
what Diofcorides meant, is not known to be a Grecian 
plant, but is rather confined to the northern parts of Europe. 
2. Parnaflia Caroliniana, or Carolina grafs of Parnaflus : 
leaves almoft orbicular; petals nearly Leflile; neCtaries 
deeply three-cleft. Difcovered by M. Bofc on bogs in 
North Carolina. It was fent to Kew garden in 1802 
(not 1782, as noted in Curtis 1459.) by the late Mr. 
Maffon ; and is hardy in our climate, flowering in autumn. 
This has altogether the habit of the preceding, but is 
fomewhat larger. "The leaves are more orbicular; petals 
more elliptical, entire, not emarginate, the lines green 
and very numerous, the whole of the petals of a greenifti 
caft. NeCtaries remarkably different, being deeply di¬ 
vided into three awl-(haped fegments only, with a yellow 
ball upon each point. Mr. Aiton mentions this fpecies 
as flowering in May and June ; Dr. Sims from July to Sep¬ 
tember. It is reprefented at fig. 2. on the engraving with 
Herb Paris, p. 443. 
3. Parnaflia afarifolia, or kidney-leaved grafs of Par- 
naflus : leaves kidney-fliaped; petals with claws; nec¬ 
taries oblong, with three terminal fegments. Native of 
bogs in North America, flowering in the latter part of 
furamer. M. Ventenat defcribed it from the collection at 
Malmaifon. This differs from both the foregoing in 
having fhorter or kidney-fliaped leaves ; petals furnifhed 
with coniiderable claws ; neCtaries of an elongated and 
linear form, divided, at the upper part only, into three 
briltle-like fegments, tipped with darker-coloured glo¬ 
bules. The petals moreover feeimto be (mailer, and more 
rounded, than in the Caroliniana; entire, and not, as 
in the paluftris, emarginate. We have not heard of this 
any more than the following, in the Engliffi gardens. 
4. Parnaflia fimbriata, or fringe-flowered grafs of Par- 
nalfus: leaves kidney-fliaped ; petals fringed at the lower 
part, with entire claws; neCtaries palmate, with nume¬ 
rous fegments. Gathered by Mr. Archibald Menzies 
on mountains on the north-weft coaft of America. This 
fpecies appears to agree with the laft in habit, but the 
flowers are effentially different. The claws of the petals 
are fmooth and entire, but the bafe of each petal itfelf 
is copioufly fringed with fine long capillary fegments. 
The nedaries are palmate, moftly refembling thofe of 
the firft fpecies, which they feem to approach in the num¬ 
ber of their fegments, but thofe fegments are of a much 
fhorter proportion. The ftem-leaf is much nearer the 
flower than the root; the radical ones are remarkably 1 
hollowed out at their bafe, clofe to the lateral ribs, which 
are connected with one another by a common bafe, like 
the divilions of a- pedate leaf, and have a very elegant ap¬ 
pearance. 
Propagation and Culture. The two firft fpecies may be 
taken up from the natural place of growth, with balls of 
4 earth 
