[5] The name comes from ancient Greece: evidently the cattle on Mount Parnassus appreciated the plant; hence it was an "honorary grass".

The stem holds a solitary white flower, blooming between July and October.

[8] Parnassia palustris is native to northern temperate parts of Eurasia[9] where it is found in wet moorlands and marshes.

When added to wine or water, the leaves are claimed to dissolve kidney stones.

[citation needed] While finishing his schooling in the School of Mines at Freiberg from June 14, 1791, to February 26, 1792, Alexander von Humboldt published three articles on plants in the Annalen der Botanik.