3. Parnassia kotzebuei Chamisso ex Sprengel, Syst. Veg. 1: 951. 1824.
Parnassia kotzebuei var. pumila C. L. Hitchcock & Ownbey
Herbs with caudices. Stems 2–15(–25) cm. Leaves: basal in rosettes; petiole 0.2–1(–2) cm; blade (of larger leaves) deltate-ovate to rhombic-ovate 3.5–12(–30) × 4–10(–25) mm, base cordate to cuneate, apex acute to obtuse; cauline on proximal 1/2 of stem or absent. Flowers: sepals spreading in fruit, oblong-lanceolate to oblanceolate, 4–8 mm, margins not hyaline, entire, apex obtuse; petals usually 3-veined, oblong to elliptic, 3–7 × 2–3 mm, length 0.8–1.3 times sepals, base rounded or cuneate, margins entire; stamens 3–4.5 mm; anthers 0.7–1 mm; staminodes obovate, unlobed or divided distally into 3–5 gland-tipped filaments, 1.5–3 mm, shorter than stamens, apical glands suborbicular, 0.1–0.2 mm; ovary green. Capsules 6–12 mm. 2n = 18, 36.
Flowering summer. Moist or seasonally dry shores, stream banks, riverbanks, meadows, tundra, seepage areas, talus, snowbeds, wet calcareous rocky places, open conifer forests; 0–3800 m; Greenland; Alta., B.C., Man., Nfld. and Labr., N.W.T., Nunavut, Ont., Que., Sask., Yukon; Alaska, Colo., Idaho, Mont., Nev., Wash., Wyo.; ne Asia.
Variety pumila was described as endemic to the western mountains, but identical plants occur throughout much of the range of the species.