Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Celastrales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Parnassia asarifolia
FAMILY
Parnassiaceae
Go to FSUS key
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 Flora of North America
Parnassia asarifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 094-06-001:
Parnassia asarifolia FAMILY Saxifragaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Parnassia asarifolia
COMMON NAME:
Kidneyleaf Grass-of-Parnassus, Appalachian Grass-of-Parnassus, Brook Parnassia, Appalachian Parnassia
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
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 (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
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 (Smith, 1998).
COMPARE
leaves of Grass-of-Parnassus species
)
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 (Smith, 1998).
)
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 (Spira, 2011).
)
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 (Gaddy, 2014).
)
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 (Spira, 2011).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Parnassia asarifolia
FAMILY
Parnassiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Parnassia asarifolia
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Parnassia asarifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 094-06-001:
Parnassia asarifolia
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Parnassia asarifolia
1027
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: bogs, sphagnous seeps, brookbanks, generally in more acidic habitats than P. grandifolia, up to elevations over 1800 m, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Uncommon in GA & NC Mountains (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Mostly basal
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
White
Radially symmetrical
5 sepals
5 petals
5 stamens & 5 staminodia
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p120
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p116
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p137
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p024
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p103
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p277
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p111
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p142
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p417
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p067
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