E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of BC

Parnassia kotzebuei Cham. ex Spreng.
Kotzebue's grass-of-Parnassus (Kotzebue's grass of Parnassus)
Celastraceae (Bittersweet family)
(Previously in Parnassiaceae)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

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).

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

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

Ecological Framework for Parnassia kotzebuei

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
Site Information	Avg	Min	Max
Elevation (metres)	1598	810	2120
Slope Gradient (%)	22	0	65
Aspect (degrees) [0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]	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

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Native	S5	Yellow	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer.

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

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