Paronychia franciscana |
Paronychia rugelii |
|
---|---|---|
California whitlow wort, San Francisco nailwort, San Francisco whitlow wort |
Rugel's nailwort, sand squares |
|
Habit | Plants perennial, mat-forming; caudex branched, woody. | Plants annual; taproot filiform to slender. |
Stems | prostrate, usually much-branched throughout, 5–50 cm, pubescent. |
erect, dichotomously branched, 5–50 cm, retrorsely to spreading- pubescent 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 ovate-lanceolate, 2–6 mm, apex acuminate, entire; blade linear to linear-oblanceolate or linear-oblong, 3–25 × 1–2.3 mm, herbaceous, apex ± acute, moderately antrorsely puberulent. |
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 to narrowly lanceolate, with enlarged hypanthium and calyx cylindric to tapering distally, 2.3–3.5 mm, pubescent mostly proximal with hooked or usually straight hairs, sometimes with scattered straight hairs distally; sepals flecked or solid red-brown, white distally, midrib obscure, linear-lanceolate, 1.5–2 mm, papery, margins white, 0.1–0.2 mm wide, papery, apex terminated by mucro, hood obscure, narrowly rounded, mucro short-conic, ca. 0.1 mm, glabrous; staminodes filiform, widening proximally, 0.5–0.6 mm; style 1, cleft in distal 1/10. |
Cymes | axillary, inconspicuous, 2–6-flowered, tightly congested. |
terminal and lateral, 15–50+-flowered, often forming large, congested clusters 5–30 mm wide. |
Utricles | ± globose to 4-angled, 1.2–1.3 mm, papillate distally. |
broadly ellipsoid to ± globose, 0.5–0.7 mm, smooth, glabrous. |
Paronychia franciscana |
Paronychia rugelii |
|
Phenology | Flowering spring. | Flowering late spring–fall. |
Habitat | Grassy hills | Woodlands, fields, clearings, roadsides, waste places |
Elevation | 20-300 m (100-1000 ft) | 0-200 m (0-700 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; South America (Chile) [Introduced in North America]
|
FL; GA
|
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. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 5, p. 38. | FNA vol. 5, p. 41. |
Parent taxa | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Paronychioideae > Paronychia | Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Paronychioideae > Paronychia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Siphonychia rugelii, Gibbesia rugelii, Odontonychia interior, P. rugelii var. interior, Siphonychia interior | |
Name authority | Eastwood: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 28: 288. (1901) | (Chapman) Shuttleworth ex Chapman: Fl. South. U.S. ed. 3, 397. (1897) |
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