Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Celastrales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Parnassia asarifolia
FAMILY
Parnassiaceae
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Kidneyleaf Grass-of-Parnassus at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Parnassia asarifolia
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 094-06-001:
Parnassia asarifolia
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
COMMON NAME:
Kidneyleaf Grass-of-Parnassus, Appalachian Grass-of-Parnassus, Brook Parnassia
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_paas2_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm200522_5144
May Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm0308w_10
August Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Petals grayish-veined; the 5 stamens separated by shorter sterile stamens, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians.
)
JK Marlow jkm0308x_06
August Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Kidney-shaped leaves 1-2" long and somewhat wider, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains.
COMPARE
leaves of Grass-of-Parnassus species
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JK Marlow jkm080924_009
September Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm080924_017b
September Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
3 sterile stamens joined at the base comprise each of the 5 staminodia, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains.
)
JK Marlow jkm090913_099
September Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Note that stamens elongate after staminodia; check lengths in several flowers, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm090913_103
September Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Fruit is a 4-parted capsule with numerous seeds, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont.
)
JK Marlow jkm090913_124
September Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
L.L. (Chick) Gaddy llg_7962
September?
One of the noteworthy seepage species of high elevations, per Alpine South: Plants and Plant Communities of the High Elevations of the Southern Appalachians.
)
JK Marlow jkm211022_4460
October Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm211022_4466
October Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm211022_4468
October Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_p_asarifolia_1
October Union County GA
Chattahoochee National Forest
)
Steve Marlow snm110412_052
November Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
The sterile stamens (staminodes) glisten like nectar droplets but are dry, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Parnassia asarifolia
FAMILY
Parnassiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Parnassia asarifolia
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 094-06-001:
Parnassia asarifolia
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
1027
Forb
Perennial
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Documented growing wild in GA NC SC
Uncommon (rare in SC)
Look for it in bogs, sphagnous seeps, brookbanks, generally in more acidic habitats than P. grandifolia, up to elevations over 1800m, per Weakley's Flora
Click here to see a more detailed map from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium,
or click here to see a map from SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
...Wet
LEAVES:
Simple
Mostly basal
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
White
Bisexual
Radially symmetrical
5 sepals
5 petals
5 stamens & 5 staminodia
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers p120
- Southern Appalachian Wildflowers p065
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast p137
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States p024
- Wild Flowers of NC, 1st edition p084
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition p103
- Wildflowers of Tennessee p111
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians p142
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont p417
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains p067