Parnassia kotzebuei Kotzebue’s grass of Parnassus Status: State Sensitive

• Main Authors: Saxifragaceae (saxifrage Family, Rank Gs
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arctic; Tundra; Alaska
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.214.4687; http://www1.dnr.wa.gov/nhp/refdesk/fguide/pdf/parkot.pdf

General Description: Glabrous perennial up to 4 in. (10 cm) tall; root stalks are short and erect; flowering stems mostly single, bractless or with a near-basal, ovate to lanceolate non-clasping bract up to in. (15 mm) long; petioles as long as or considerably longer than the blades; leaf blades are basal and petiolate, ovate to elliptic, spade shaped, attached to the main stem by a stalk; calyx adnate to the ovary, the segments narrowly oblong-lanceolate, up to in. (7 mm) long, usually three nerved; flowers small, less than 1 in. (2 cm) across, white, petals 5, 1-3 veined, 1/8 to 3/16 in. (3 to 4 mm) long; stamens 5, alternating with sterile staminodia that consist of short linear scales that may have 1 to 3 teeth; filaments rather slender, mostly equal to the sepals in length and considerably longer than the staminoidia, capsule up to 1/2 in. (1 cm) long. Identification Tips: Parnassia kotzebuei is most closely related to P. parviflora and P. palustris. These species can be distinguished by the nature of the flowering stems, petals, staminodia, and anthers. The flowering stems of P. kotzebuei are bractless or with a near-basal bract, its petals are 1 to 3 nerved and usually only about half as long as the filaments, its staminodia have 1 to 5 segments and are usually only about half as long as the filaments, and its anthers are less than 1/32 in. (1 mm long). The flowering stems of P. parviflora and P. palustris usually have a bract above the level of the basal leaves, they have 5 to 13 veined petals that are most often considerably longer than the calyx lobes, its staminodia have 5 to numerous segments and are usually well over half as long as the filaments, and its anthers are at least 1/32 in. (1 mm) long. Phenology: The species flowers from June to September. Range: Parnassia kotzebuei occurs in the Arctic tundra in Alaska southward in the Rocky Mountains to British Columbia and in a few