The

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

''Parnassia'', also known as grass of Parnassus or bog-stars, are plants now placed in the family

Celastraceae The Celastraceae (staff-vine or bittersweet) are a family of 97 genera and 1,350 species of herbs, vines, shrubs and small trees, belonging to the order Celastrales. The great majority of the genera are tropical, with only ''Celastrus'' (the sta ...

, formerly classified in Parnassiaceae or

Saxifragaceae Saxifragaceae is a family of herbaceous perennial flowering plants, within the core eudicot order Saxifragales. The taxonomy of the family has been greatly revised and the scope much reduced in the era of molecular phylogenetic analysis. The fa ...

. The plants occur in

arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

and

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

habitats, as well as in

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

systems and

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...

s, swamps,

wet meadow A wet meadow is a type of wetland with soils that are Solubility, saturated for part or all of the growing season. Debate exists whether a wet meadow is a type of marsh or a completely separate type of wetland. Wet prairies and wet savannas are hyd ...

s, open seepage areas, moist woods, and across the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

. It is actually not a

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

, but an herbaceous

dicot The dicotyledons, also known as dicots (or, more rarely, dicotyls), are one of the two groups into which all the flowering plants (angiosperms) were formerly divided. The name refers to one of the typical characteristics of the group: namely, ...

. The stalk of the plant can reach up to , the leaves up to and the petals can be up to wide. The flower has five white petals with light green venation. There are five three-pronged sterile stamens, each tipped with drop-like false nectaries, which (along with the visual cue of veins) attract pollinating flies and bees. Some species are often found in wet calcareous habitats with low fertility, low canopy cover, and high plant diversity. '' Parnassia glauca'' is considered to be an indicator species of

s in New York State. Such habitats are often becoming rare, and so species of ''Parnassia'' may have high conservation value. For example ''

Parnassia palustris ''Parnassia palustris'', the marsh grass of Parnassus, northern grass-of-Parnassus, or just grass-of-Parnassus, and bog star, is a flowering plant in the staff-vine family Celastraceae. It is the county flower of Cumberland in England, and appe ...

'' is threatened and legally protected in Michigan while '' Parnassia caroliniana'' is considered imperiled in North Carolina. Parnassus flowers are the symbol of the

Clan MacLea The Clan MacLea is a Highland Scottish clan, which was traditionally located in the district of Lorn in Argyll, Scotland, and is seated on the Isle of Lismore. There is a tradition of some MacLeas Anglicising their names to Livingstone, thus ...

, also known as the highland Livingstone clan, and said to be the favorite flower of St. Moluag, the Irish missionary whose staff the clan chiefs hold. Three Grass of Parnassus flowers appear on the

Flag of Cumberland The Cumberland flag is the flag of the historic county of Cumberland. It was registered with the Flag Institute as the flag of the county in December 2012. __TOC__ Design The flag is based on the pattern of the arms of the former Cumberland C ...

, a British county, since that flower grows on Cumberland's lofty fells. Species include: * '' Parnassia asarifolia'' * '' Parnassia cabulica'' * '' Parnassia caroliniana'' * '' Parnassia californica'' * '' Parnassia cirrata'' * '' Parnassia fimbriata'' * '' Parnassia foliosa'' * '' Parnassia glauca'' * '' Parnassia grandifolia'' * '' Parnassia kotzebuei'' * ''

'' * '' Parnassia parviflora''

References

External links

''Parnassia'' entry at USDA PLANTS database
Celastrales genera {{Celastraceae-stub