Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Celastrales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Parnassia grandifolia
FAMILY
Parnassiaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Bigleaf Grass-of-Parnassus at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Parnassia grandifolia
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Parnassia grandifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 094-06-003:
Parnassia grandifolia FAMILY Saxifragaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Parnassia grandifolia
COMMON NAME:
Bigleaf Grass-of-Parnassus, Limeseep Parnassia
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_pagr_001_lvd
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JK Marlow jkm220315_6085
March Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm220412_6764
April Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm230606_3845
June Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm0308u_01
August Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
A single sessile leaf, similar to the basal leaves, midway on flower stalk, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
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Alan Cressler alc_7932908126_8fcb5f0f03
September Clay County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Tusquitee Ranger District
Midway between petal base and apex, 5-9 main parallel veins; ovary green, per Weakley's Flora.
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JK Marlow jkm150912_093
September Clay County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Tusquitee Ranger District
Main veins often strongly dilated toward the apex of the petal, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
)
JK Marlow jkm150912_095
September Clay County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Tusquitee Ranger District
Leaves not forming large clonal patches; leaf blades ovate, longer than wide, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
)
JK Marlow jkm150912_097
September Clay County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Tusquitee Ranger District
Outer- or basal-most main vein with numerous short laterals on outer side, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_p_grandifolia_2
September
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_p_grandifoliabig
September
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JK Marlow jkm0310h_14
October Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm0310h_19
October Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm221004_0150
October Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm221004_0154
October Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm221004_0155
October Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_parnassiagrandifolia
October
5 stamens w reddish anthers separated by longer, pointed, sterile stamens, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Dan Whitten sdw_10082011_392
October Greenville County SC
Chandler Heritage Preserve
)
Gill Newberry gn0472
November Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
)
Gill Newberry gn0476
November Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
Ovary green, sometimes white toward the base, per Weakley's Flora (2015).
)
JK Marlow jkm0411a_13
November Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Fruit a capsule with 4 valves. Empty capsules may persist until Spring, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
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L.L. (Chick) Gaddy llg_7824
Month Unknown Ashe County NC
This and other rare fen species can be found on Bluff Mtn in Ashe County, NC, per Alpine South: Plants and Plant Communities of the High Elevations of the Southern Appalachians (Gaddy, 2014).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Parnassia grandifolia
FAMILY
Parnassiaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Parnassia grandifolia
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Parnassia grandifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 094-06-003:
Parnassia grandifolia
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Parnassia grandifolia
1028
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: fens, gravelly seepages, inland primarily or solely over calcareous, mafic, or ultramafic rocks; in the Coastal Plain in seepage over marl on nearly vertical river bluffs on the Cape Fear River (NC), and in acidic seepage bogs in pinelands, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Rare
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Mostly basal
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
White
Radially symmetrical
5 sepals
5 petals
5 stamens & 5 staminodia
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006) p152
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p119
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p115
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p390
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p138
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p024
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p103
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p277
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p112
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p142
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p067
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