Paronychia drummondii |
Paronychia sessiliflora |
|
---|---|---|
Drummond's nailwort |
creeping nailwort, low nailwort |
|
Habit | Plants annual or biennial; taproot filiform to slender. | Plants perennial, densely cespitose and mat-forming; caudex branched, woody. |
Stems | sprawling t2o erect, nearly simple to much-branched especially distally, 7–35 cm, retrorsely pubescent on 1 side or throughout. |
erect to ascending, branched proximally, 5–25 cm, hirtellous. |
Leaves | stipules lanceolate to ovate, 5–10 mm, apex acuminate, entire; blade linear-oblong to oblanceolate, 5–30 × 1–7 mm, leathery, apex acute to cuspidate, moderately antrorsely pubescent. |
stipules lanceolate to subulate, 2–3 mm, apex long-acuminate, often deeply cleft; blade linear-subulate, 4–7.5 × 0.5–0.8 mm, leathery, apex acute or shortly cuspidate-mucronate, very finely puberulent to glabrous. |
Flowers | 5-merous, ± short-campanulate, with prominently enlarged hypanthium and calyx flaring distally, (1.5–)2–2.3 mm, pubescent proximally with short, hooked hairs; sepals greenish to brownish or red-brown, white distally, veins absent, oblong to obovate, 1–1.5 mm, leathery to rigid, margins white, 0.2–0.3 mm wide, papery, apex terminating in divergent awn, hood broadly rounded, awn white, stout-conic, 0.5–0.6 mm, glabrous; staminodes filiform, ± 0.3 mm; style 1, cleft in distal 1/5, 0.3–0.6 mm. |
5-merous, ± ovoid, with enlarged hypanthium and calyx narrowing distally, 3.6–5 mm, moderately pubescent with silky to stiff, antrorse to somewhat spreading hairs; sepals green to red-brown, midrib and lateral pair of veins prominent, lanceolate-oblong, 1.5–2 mm, leathery, margins whitish to translucent, 0.1–0.2 mm wide, scarious, apex terminated by awn, hood ± obscure, narrowly rounded, awn erect to somewhat spreading, 1–1.5(–2) mm, narrowly conic in proximal 1/2 with white, scabrous spine; staminodes filiform, 0.7–1 mm; style 1, cleft in distal 1/5, 1.4–1.5 mm. |
Cymes | terminal, 25+-flowered, much-branched but congested, clusters 5–20 mm wide. |
terminal, 3–6-flowered, congested, or flowers solitary. |
Utricles | ellipsoid to subglobose, 0.5–0.8 mm, minutely papillate distally. |
ovoid-oblong, 1.3–1.4 mm, densely pubescent in distal 1/2. |
Paronychia drummondii |
Paronychia sessiliflora |
|
Phenology | Flowering spring–fall. | Flowering summer. |
Habitat | Sandy woodlands, clearings, roadsides | Dry, stony hillsides, summits, and sandstone mesas |
Elevation | 0-100 m (0-300 ft) | 700-3100 m (2300-10200 ft) |
Distribution |
LA; OK; TX
|
CO; MT; ND; NE; NM; NV; OK; TX; UT; WY; AB; SK
|
Discussion | Chaudhri described two subspecies of Paronychia drummondii based on differences in leaf pubescence, flower size, and style length. We follow B. L. Turner (1983b), who noted that many specimens demonstrate intermediate characteristics, suggesting that taxonomic recognition not be given to the extremes. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
|
Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 36. | FNA vol. 5, p. 42. |
Parent taxa | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Paronychioideae > Paronychia | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Paronychioideae > Paronychia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | P. drummondii subsp. parviflora | |
Name authority | Torrey & A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 170. (1838) | Nuttall: Gen. N. Amer. Pl. 1: 160. (1818) |
Web links |