Parnassia asarifolia
species of plant
Paranassia asarifolia, commonly known as kidneyleaf-grass-of-Parnassus or Appalachian-grass-of-Parnassus is a small, perennial wildflower in the family Celastraceae native to the southeastern United States. It occurs mainly in the southern Appalachian region, where it grows in cool, wet habitats such as mountain bogs, fens, seeps, and wet woodlands on acidic soils..
The species is distinguished by its basal rosette of kidney-shaped leaves and a single white, veined flower borne on an erect stem. Flowering occurs from mid-summer to early autumn, followed by capsule fruit development. Like other members of the genus Parnassia, its flowers have sterile staminodes that likely aid in insect pollination.
Parnassia asarifolia is a long-lived perennial that reproduces by seed and depends on stable wetland conditions. Although it is considered relatively secure overall, it is rare or endangered in some states that it grows in. It has no documented medicinal uses but is sometimes cultivated in native gardens within its range.
Description
This species is a perennial, wildflower herb that grows on an erect, green stem that is between 18-50 centimeters long and a single white flower at the top. Its flowers bloom from July-October and fruits from September-November.
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This entry incorporates text from “Parnassia asarifolia” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.