Flora of Georgia and surrounding states
Piedmont Plants
Parnassia asarifolia Ventenat 1804, grass-of-parnassus
Every time I spot a grass-of-parnassus I get a little bit of a thrill. It is not a common plant, but it isn't rare. It seems to hide in the moist areas of brooks and streams in the mountains in small glens that get some sunlight through the canopy in the middle of the day. I always take at least several moments to revel in its delights.
Taxonomy
Older references include this within the Saxifragaceae where is only very distantly related. APG III subsumes it into the Celastraceae where it is more closely allied. It’s physical distinctiveness argues for maintaining it as the family Parnassiaceae with two genera and 16 species.
Almost amazingly, this plant has only this single scientific name!
Etymology
Almost everything about the name of this plant is enigmatic! Grass-of-parnassus is certainly not a grass and it doesn't grow on Mount Parnassus.
The genus name seems to come from Ancient Greek Παρνασσός Parnassos, the name of the son the nymph Kleodora and the human Kleopompus. His city was flooded so they moved it up on the slopes of the mountain that took his name becoming Mount Parnassus. This mountain was sacred to Apollo and home to the Muses. The literary world considers it the home of poetry.
This persistent, yet unsubstantiated, story persists: “Parnassia is a reference to Mount Parnassus; Linnæus applied the name to the genus based on an account in Materia Medica, a written work by the Greek physician Dioscorides (Dioscorides called it Agrostis En Parnasso)” [Botany Photo of the Day January 13, 2011]. Linnæus makes no mention of the origin of the name in Species Plantarum and clearly used a pre-existing name. Agrostis comes from the Ancient Greek ἄγρωστις agrōstis, a kind of grass now the genus of bentgrass and the connection to Dioscorides is thin at best.
Today Parnassia is not found on Mount Parnassus but “Parnassia palustris… [is found on], Mt Tzena [in] Northern Greece” [Greek Mountain Flora].
Plantlife, a conservation organization in Great Britain makes this unsubstantiated claim: "The cattle on Mount Parnassus developed a taste for the plant; hence it was an ‘honorary grass'."
The epithet of this species comes from Asarum, the genus of wild ginger + Latin folia, leaf, as its leaves strongly resemble several of our wild ginger.
Status
No federal or state status.
NatureServe status is G4 - Apparently Secure.
Distribution & Habitat
The Biota of North America has a county-level distribution map.
The UNC plant atlas has a county-level distribution map.
This species is primarily found in the Appalachians, Cumberland Plateau and Ozark higher mountains, yet outliers are found in along the Alabama-Georgia border in the Pine Mountain area. I've found it in several of the springs that serve as headwaters of creeks that flow south into Sparks Creek from near the 1,100 foot elevation between Dowdel's Knob and Georgia highway 85 where all of these photos were taken. I've also found it in Bettes Gap on Sawnee Mountain in Forsyth County. There is a record for my home county of Cobb, but I've no idea where it is from!
Taxonomy
Older references include this within the Saxifragaceae where is only very distantly related. APG III subsumes it into the Celastraceae where it is more closely allied. It’s physical distinctiveness argues for maintaining it as the family Parnassiaceae with two genera and 16 species.
Almost amazingly, this plant has only this single scientific name!
Etymology
Almost everything about the name of this plant is enigmatic! Grass-of-parnassus is certainly not a grass and it doesn't grow on Mount Parnassus.
The genus name seems to come from Ancient Greek Παρνασσός Parnassos, the name of the son the nymph Kleodora and the human Kleopompus. His city was flooded so they moved it up on the slopes of the mountain that took his name becoming Mount Parnassus. This mountain was sacred to Apollo and home to the Muses. The literary world considers it the home of poetry.
This persistent, yet unsubstantiated, story persists: “Parnassia is a reference to Mount Parnassus; Linnæus applied the name to the genus based on an account in Materia Medica, a written work by the Greek physician Dioscorides (Dioscorides called it Agrostis En Parnasso)” [Botany Photo of the Day January 13, 2011]. Linnæus makes no mention of the origin of the name in Species Plantarum and clearly used a pre-existing name. Agrostis comes from the Ancient Greek ἄγρωστις agrōstis, a kind of grass now the genus of bentgrass and the connection to Dioscorides is thin at best.
Today Parnassia is not found on Mount Parnassus but “Parnassia palustris… [is found on], Mt Tzena [in] Northern Greece” [Greek Mountain Flora].
Plantlife, a conservation organization in Great Britain makes this unsubstantiated claim: "The cattle on Mount Parnassus developed a taste for the plant; hence it was an ‘honorary grass'."
The epithet of this species comes from Asarum, the genus of wild ginger + Latin folia, leaf, as its leaves strongly resemble several of our wild ginger.
Status
No federal or state status.
NatureServe status is G4 - Apparently Secure.
Distribution & Habitat
The Biota of North America has a county-level distribution map.
The UNC plant atlas has a county-level distribution map.
This species is primarily found in the Appalachians, Cumberland Plateau and Ozark higher mountains, yet outliers are found in along the Alabama-Georgia border in the Pine Mountain area. I've found it in several of the springs that serve as headwaters of creeks that flow south into Sparks Creek from near the 1,100 foot elevation between Dowdel's Knob and Georgia highway 85 where all of these photos were taken. I've also found it in Bettes Gap on Sawnee Mountain in Forsyth County. There is a record for my home county of Cobb, but I've no idea where it is from!
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Description
From a distance grass-of-parnassus is lovely, but upon close examination the flower becomes truly magnificent. Most notable are the green to gray-green veins that seem etched into the wax-like petals. Most of the veins end with a little flip or curl near the end of the petal, but some have a very small split off in the opposite direction. The five petals have an almost cordate (heart-shaped) base with a wide stalk clasping the receptacle so they all touch. The whorl of stamens takes some study to understand. There are five stamens that align themselves above where two petals meet. Their filaments are bright white with 3-lobed ashy gray-white anthers looking like candle snuffers capping them. Between them are curious structures called staminodes, thought to be rudimentary, undeveloped and sterile stamens. A cursory look reveals three of them between each of the fertile stamens, but there is only one as they are very deeply 3-cleft. |
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The plant has just a single, almost round leaf that appears to encircle the stem. They are actually just very strongly cordate with the heart-lobes almost touching and nearly wrapping the stem. Often described as reniform, kidney-shaped, this species' lobes are more pronounced making them look less like a kidney to my eyes. They are much wider than long unlike all of their southeastern relatives.
This leaf shape has given rise to a common name that seems just silly to me: kidney-leaved grass-of-parnassus. I've never heard anyone call this plant that name and can trace it to the PLANTS database where it has now, unfortunately, spread. If a common name is needed for this species, I prefer Appalachian grass-of-parnassus. |
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