Paronychia franciscana |
Paronychia drummondii |
|
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California whitlow wort, San Francisco nailwort, San Francisco whitlow wort |
Drummond's nailwort |
|
Habit | Plants perennial, mat-forming; caudex branched, woody. | Plants annual or biennial; taproot filiform to slender. |
Stems | prostrate, usually much-branched throughout, 5–50 cm, pubescent. |
sprawling t2o erect, nearly simple to much-branched especially distally, 7–35 cm, retrorsely pubescent on 1 side or throughout. |
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 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. |
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, ± 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. |
Cymes | axillary, inconspicuous, 2–6-flowered, tightly congested. |
terminal, 25+-flowered, much-branched but congested, clusters 5–20 mm wide. |
Utricles | ± globose to 4-angled, 1.2–1.3 mm, papillate distally. |
ellipsoid to subglobose, 0.5–0.8 mm, minutely papillate distally. |
Paronychia franciscana |
Paronychia drummondii |
|
Phenology | Flowering spring. | Flowering spring–fall. |
Habitat | Grassy hills | Sandy woodlands, clearings, roadsides |
Elevation | 20-300 m (100-1000 ft) | 0-100 m (0-300 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; South America (Chile) [Introduced in North America]
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LA; OK; TX
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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.) |
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. 38. | FNA vol. 5, p. 36. |
Parent taxa | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Paronychioideae > Paronychia | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Paronychioideae > Paronychia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | P. drummondii subsp. parviflora | |
Name authority | Eastwood: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 28: 288. (1901) | Torrey & A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 170. (1838) |
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