Kotzebue's grass-of-Parnassus (Kotzebue's grass of Parnassus)
Celastraceae (Bittersweet family)
(Previously in Parnassiaceae)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a short rootstock and fibrous root; stems erect, mostly solitary, simple, 6-20 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves egg-shaped, abruptly tapered at the base, 0.5-2.5 cm long, entire; stem leaves lacking.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of single terminal flowers on leafless stalks, petals 5, white, 1- to 3(5)-veined, elliptic-lanceolate or more or less egg-shaped; calyces lobed nearly to the base, the lobes oblong, about the same length as the petals; sterile stamens with a thin scale ending in 5 short segments or reduced to a bilobed or single scale.
Fruits:
Capsules, egg-shaped, 0.8-1 cm long; seeds numerous.
Notes:
The supposedly distinct, more southern var. pumila C.L. Hitchc. & Ownbey also occurs in northern populations and is therefore of dubious merit (Douglas and Ratcliffe 1981).
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Ecology
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
1598 | 810 | 2120 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
22 | 0 | 65 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
21 | 0 | 355 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
4 | 0 | 6 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
22 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
BAFA | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(1), BAFA(12), BWBS(1), ESSF(2), ICH(1), SWB(5) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Wet to moist meadows and streambanks in the montane to alpine zones; frequent in BC N of 54degreeN and east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains, rare southward; amphiberingian, N to AK, YT and NT, E to Labr. and Greenland, S to WA, NV and WY; Siberia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Parnassia kotzebuei var. pumila C.L. Hitchc. & Ownbey
Taxonomic Keys
1. Petals fringed or comb-like on the lower half...................P. fimbriata
1. Petals not frnged or comb-like on the lower half. 2. Flowering stems bractless or with a near-basal bract; petals 1-3 (5) veined.............P. kotzebuei 2. Flowering stems usually with a bract above the level of the basal leaves; petals 5-13-veined. 3. Petals 7-13-veined, 6-12 mm long; sterile stamens cleft into up to 15 slender divisions; leaves often blunt or heart-shaped at base...................P. palustris 3. Petals usually 5-veined, usually 4-8 mm long; sterile stamens cleft into up to 7 slender divisions; leaves tapered at base....................P. parviflora Source: Illustrated Flora of British Columbia |