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Home / Browse / Parnassia / Alaska Grass Of Parnassus (var. palustris)
iNaturalist — CC, credited & licensed per image
Pictured: Parnassia palustris — the species. This variety isn’t separately illustrated.
Saxifragaceae family

Alaska Grass Of Parnassus (var. palustris) Parnassia palustris var. palustris variety

Native Specialist-bee host

Alaska Grass Of Parnassus (var. palustris) is a perennial wildflower native to Alaska. A host for pollen-specialist native bees.

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Herb layer — Sits in the herb of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts Documented caterpillar host

Recorded feeding on Parnassia in North America, including:

Zelleria parnassiae · ermine moth
Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
✦ Bees specialist-bee host

Specialist native bees depend on it.

Some native bees are pollen specialists (oligolectic) — they raise young only on pollen from particular plant genera. Parnassia is a recorded specialist-bee host, so losing it can mean losing the bee that relies on it.

Xerces pollinator conservation →
Specialist hosts from Smith et al. 2024.
Sources for this entry (9) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[06] Ecological value — GloBI · Smith et al. 2024 (CC BY)
[08] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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