Scientific name: Parnassia palustris L.
Common name: Grass-of-Parnassus
Description
Habit: A hairless perennial, to 30 cm high.
Stems: Erect.
Leaves: Mostly basal, long-stalked, 1-5 cm, undivided, heart-shaped; flowering stem with a single, stalkless leaf.
Flowers: White, actinomorphic, solitary, terminal, 2-3 cm; sepals 5, slightly united at the base; petals 5, free, with translucent veins, slightly notched at the tip; stamens 5, alternating with 5 large sterile stamens which are much branched with each branch ending in a yellow-green gland; ovary superior, 1-celled, stigma 4-lobed.
Fruits: A capsule.
Habitat: Lake-shores, marshes, fens, flushes, bogs and small and damp hollows.Distribution: Frequent but local on the limestone, rare elsewhere.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: No