Nederlands: Parnassia
Español: Hepática blanca - Hierba del Parnaso
Français: Parnassie des marais
Deutsch: Sumpf-Herzblatt - Studentenröschen
Family: Parnassiaceae - Grass of Parnussus family
Flowering time: June-September
Height: 10-30cm
Altitude: to 2600m
Colour: white
Flower: solitary, 15-30mm, 5 sepals, 5 petals, 5 stamens
Leaves: basal, heart-shaped
Habitat: damp mountain pastures, wet dune slacks, fens, streamside flushes
Distribution: most European countries, in southern Europe only in the mountains
Notes: Parnassia palustris can form extensive colonies. Plants of Grass of Parnassus flower for about a week. During this period the stamens lean, one or two at the time, over the stigma, retiring after they have shed their pollen and giving place to others. The branched staminodes have a solid nectar-secreting base, glistening like a drop of honey. In Belgium Parnassia palustris is on the Belgium Red List of vascular plants classified as threatened with extinction. In the Netherlands it is on the Dutch Red List of vascular plants classified as vulnerable. In this country it can be found in wet dune slacks. In the Sierra Nevada in southern Spain Parnassia Palustris can be found in the borreguiles (wet pastures) and along stream sides above 2000m.
Related key words: Kapittelduinen Hoek van Holland, Nederlandse Rode Lijst, Barranco de las Albardas Trevélez, Borreguiles del Barranco de San Juan, Prado del Espino, Corral de Veleta, San Jerónimo Monachil, Sierra Nevada, Granada, Andalucía, Andalusia, Andalusië, Pirineos, Pyrenees, Pyreneeën, Picos de Europa, Spain, Alps
