September 15th, 2012. We stopped by the spot on
the highway through Black Rock Mountain State Park in Rabun County, Georgia, where
we had found Parnassia asarifolia, the Kidney-leaved Grass of Parnassus, last
year. We found them growing in a shaded seep/ditch on North Germany Mountain
Road.
Last year, the road side mowers had left a swath
of vegetation beside the seep that made it easy to sit and photograph the
flowers. Unfortunately, this year the mowers had cut much closer to the edge of
the ditch. The plants were blooming in the ditch itself.
A few of the flowers. The light green spots
below the open blooms are buds
One of the
buds beginning to open
The stamens
of these flowers don’t develop at the same time. When the flower opens, the
stamen are immature and lying against the ovary. In these photos, only one or two stamen
have matured and opened away from the ovary; others are still aligned against
the ovary with the immature anthers visible as a cream or light brown ovoid
disks in the center of the flower. The circle of golden yellow spots are parts
of sterile stamen-like organs (staminoids) that are thought to attract insects
to the flower. There are five stamenoids; each has three ‘branches’ topped by
the yellow structure.
A recently
opened flower. The stamen are still immature and cream; one anther is starting
to darken and will soon open out away from the center to release pollen
One of the
anthers has matured and opened away from the center of the flower. Another
anther is maturing and is just a little distance from the center. The remaining
anthers are still immature (cream) or are starting to mature (light brown)
Two anthers
have matured and opened away from the center. One anther is maturing, ready to
open out, and two anthers are still immature (cream)
See an
extensive set of photographs of these flowers here
Parnassia asarifolia is one
of two species of Parnassia that grow in north Georgia; the other species is
Parnassia grandiflora (Bigleaf Grass-of-Parnassus or Limeseep Parnassia).
Parnassia asarifolia is known by the common names Kidneyleaf Grass of
Parnassus, Kidney-leaved Grass-of-Parnassus, Appalachian Grass-of-Parnassus and
Brook Parnassia.
Parnassia
asarifolia is native to the United States and may be found in seeps from
Virginia to Texas with the exception of Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana. In
Georgia, it has been reported from several counties in the Piedmont.
Click on an
image to view a larger image
Identification
resources:
Wildflowers
of the Southeastern U. S.: Grass of Parnassus (Parnassia asarifolia)
North
Carolina Native Plant Society: Parnassia asarifolia (Kidney-leavedGrass-of-Parnassus, Appalachian Grass-of-Parnassus, Brook Parnassia)
North
Carolina State University: Parnassia asarifolia (Grass-of-parnassus,Kidney-leaf grass-of-parnassus)
Natural and
Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Parnassia asarifolia (Kidneyleaf Grass-of-Parnassus, Appalachian Grass-of-Parnassus, BrookParnassia)
Distribution:
United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database:
Parnassia asarifolia (Kidneyleaf Grass of Parnassus)
University
of North Carolina Herbarium: Parnassia asarifolia
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