Grass of Parnassus (Parnassia), a genus of plants belonging to the natural order Saxifragaceæ.
The popular and also the botanical names are founded on the myth that the best-known species (P. palustris) first appeared on Mount Parnassus, the abode of grace and beauty. The plant is a native of bogs and moist heaths in Britain and throughout northern Europe and Russian Asia, becoming a mountain plant in southern Europe and west central Asia. The calyx is deeply 5-cleft, the petals white, 5 in number, and there are 5 perfect and 5 imperfect stamens, the latter bearing instead of anthers a tuft of 10 to 12 globular-headed hairs. There are several other species natives of Asia and North America.