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

Parnassia parviflora DC.
small-flowered grass-of-Parnassus
Celastraceae (Bittersweet family)
(Previously in Parnassiaceae)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Parnassia parviflora
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Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Perennial herb from a short rootstock and fibrous root; stems ascending to erect, usually solitary, simple, 10-30 cm tall.

Leaves:
Basal leaves egg-shaped to elliptic, 1-2.5 cm long, tapered basally, entire, the stalks from subequal to 3 times longer than the blade; stem leaves solitary, reduced, lanceolate, 0.7-1.8 cm long, located below midlength.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of single terminal flowers; petals 5, white, 4-7 (10) mm long, usually 5-veined, outer veins less conspicuous than the inner ones; sterile stamens with a thickened base flared upwards and divided into 7 slender segments.

Fruits:
Capsules, egg-shaped, 7-11 mm long; seeds numerous.

Notes:
This species might better be treated as a smaller-flowered variety of P. palustris.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Key to the Species and Taxonomic Notes

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

Habitat / Range

Moist to wet meadows, streambanks, fens and bogs in the montane zone; infrequent in E BC, rare northward; N to SE AK, E to NF and S to WI, SD, ID and MT.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Parnassia parviflora

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	Minimum	Average	Maximum
Elevation (metres)	807	1003	1200
Slope Gradient (%)	0	1	3
Aspect (degrees) [0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]	335	335	335
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric]	5	6	7
Modal Nutrient Regime Class	D
Number of field plots species was recorded in:	2
Modal BEC Zone Class	IDF
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in:	IDF(1), SBPS(1)
Source: Klinkenberg 2020

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Native	S4 (2019)	Yellow	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Parnassia palustris var. parviflora (DC.) B. Boivin
Parnassia parviflora subsp. parviflora

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer

Additional Photo Sources

UBC Herbarium Scanned Collection Record
Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2026-04-14 8:33:38 AM ]

Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.