Paronychia franciscana |
Paronychia ahartii |
|
---|---|---|
California whitlow wort, San Francisco nailwort, San Francisco whitlow wort |
Ahart's nailwort, Ahart's paronychia |
|
Habit | Plants perennial, mat-forming; caudex branched, woody. | Plants annual; taproot filiform to stout. |
Stems | prostrate, usually much-branched throughout, 5–50 cm, pubescent. |
erect, tightly branched, 0.5–1.2 cm, glabrous. |
Leaves | stipules ovate-lanceolate, 3–6 mm, apex narrowly acute to long-acuminate, entire; blade elliptic to oblanceolate, 5–10 × 1.5–2.5 mm, ± fleshy, apex spinulous, entire, ± moderately antrorsely appressed-pubescent. |
stipules broadly ovate, 3–6 mm, apex acute to acuminate, entire; blade linear to oblanceolate, 2.5–7.5 × 0.5–1.2 mm, leathery, apex spinulose, glabrous. |
Inflorescences | flowers axillary, solitary. |
|
Flowers | 5-merous, short-cylindric, with enlarged hypanthium and calyx cylindric to slightly tapering distally, 1.9–2.4 mm, glabrous, sepals puberulent distally; sepals greenish, becoming reddish brown, midrib and lateral pair of veins often apparent, oblong to ovate, 1.2–1.3 mm, herbaceous, margins translucent, ca. 0.1 mm wide, scarious, apex terminated by awn, hood broadly rounded, awn erect, 0.5–0.7 mm, conic in proximal 1/6 with whitish, smooth spine; staminodes absent; styles 2, 0.2–0.3 mm. |
5-merous, cylindric, with enlarged hypanthium and calyx cylindric to somewhat tapering distally, 4.2–5 mm, moderately hairy in proximal 1/2 with hooked to coiled hairs; sepals green to tan, veins absent, lanceolate to elliptic, 3.5–4.5 mm, margins translucent, 0.7–1+ mm wide, scarious (resembling stipules), apex (of herbaceous midrib) terminated by awn, hood apparently consisting of prominent, erect, scarious extension of margins split at apex, awn ± spreading, 1.5–2 mm, oblong extension of midrib in proximal 1/4, with white, wavy, threadlike spine; staminodes filiform, ca. 1 mm; style 1, cleft in distal 3/4, ca. 0.5 mm. |
Cymes | axillary, inconspicuous, 2–6-flowered, tightly congested. |
|
Utricles | ± globose to 4-angled, 1.2–1.3 mm, papillate distally. |
ovoid, ca. 1.3 mm, papillose distally. |
Paronychia franciscana |
Paronychia ahartii |
|
Phenology | Flowering spring. | Flowering spring. |
Habitat | Grassy hills | Well-drained rocky outcrops, vernal pool edges, volcanic uplands |
Elevation | 20-300 m (100-1000 ft) | 0-500 m (0-1600 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; South America (Chile) [Introduced in North America]
|
CA |
Discussion | Although Paronychia franciscana was described from California, where it has been known from the San Francisco area since 1887, the species is native in Chile. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Of conservation concern. Paronychia ahartii, first collected in 1938, is known from three counties in north-central California. It most closely resembles P. arabica (Linnaeus) de Candolle, a species of northern African and Arabian deserts. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 38. | FNA vol. 5, p. 33. |
Parent taxa | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Paronychioideae > Paronychia | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Paronychioideae > Paronychia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | Eastwood: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 28: 288. (1901) | Ertter: Madroño 32: 87, fig. 1. (1985) |
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