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Rugel's nailwort, sand squares

silverling, silvery nailwort, silvery whitlow-wort

Habit Plants annual; taproot filiform to slender. Plants perennial, matted; caudex woody.
Stems

erect, dichotomously branched, 5–50 cm, retrorsely to spreading- pubescent throughout.

prostrate to ascending, much-branched, 5–60 cm, often retrorsely pubescent on 1 side.

Leaves

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.

stipules lanceolate, 2.5–8 mm, apex acute, entire;

blade linear to linear-lanceolate or -oblanceolate, 5–30 × 0.5–2 mm, leathery, apex acute, often mucronate, sparsely appressed-pubescent.

Flowers

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.

5-merous, short-cylindric to ovoid, with enlarged hypanthium and calyx cylindric to tapering distally, 3.5–6.5 mm, pubescent with antrorse, slightly spreading, silky hairs;

sepals greenish to brownish, veins 3, obscure, ribs absent, narrowly lanceolate, 2–3.2 mm, leathery to rigid, margins translucent, ca. 0.1 mm wide, scarious, apex terminated by awn, hood narrowly triangular, awn straight to slightly divergent, white, 0.9–2 mm, scabrous, spinose;

staminodes narrowly triangular, 0.4–0.6 mm;

style 1, cleft in distal 1/6, 1.4–2 mm.

Cymes

terminal and lateral, 15–50+-flowered, often forming large, congested clusters 5–30 mm wide.

terminal, 15–25+-flowered, very compact, forming conspicuous glomerules 10–20 mm wide.

Utricles

broadly ellipsoid to ± globose, 0.5–0.7 mm, smooth, glabrous.

oblong, 1.5–1.8 mm, smooth, pubescent distally.

Paronychia rugelii

Paronychia argyrocoma

Phenology Flowering late spring–fall. Flowering spring–early fall.
Habitat Woodlands, fields, clearings, roadsides, waste places On or among rocks
Elevation 0-200 m (0-700 ft) 200-1800 m (700-5900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
FL; GA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
GA; KY; MA; MD; ME; NC; NH; TN; VA; VT; WV
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[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Of conservation concern.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Plants of Paronychia argyrocoma with glabrous or barely scabrous leaves and glabrous sepal awns have sometimes been recognized as var. albimontana. They are found in both the southern and northern areas of the species range, but, curiously, not in the central portion (M. N. Chaudhri 1968).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 5, p. 41. FNA vol. 5, p. 33.
Parent taxa Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Paronychioideae > Paronychia Caryophyllaceae > subfam. Paronychioideae > Paronychia
Sibling taxa
P. ahartii, P. americana, P. argyrocoma, P. baldwinii, P. canadensis, P. chartacea, P. congesta, P. depressa, P. drummondii, P. echinulata, P. erecta, P. fastigiata, P. franciscana, P. herniarioides, P. jamesii, P. jonesii, P. lindheimeri, P. maccartii, P. monticola, P. patula, P. pulvinata, P. sessiliflora, P. setacea, P. virginica, P. wilkinsonii
P. ahartii, P. americana, P. baldwinii, P. canadensis, P. chartacea, P. congesta, P. depressa, P. drummondii, P. echinulata, P. erecta, P. fastigiata, P. franciscana, P. herniarioides, P. jamesii, P. jonesii, P. lindheimeri, P. maccartii, P. monticola, P. patula, P. pulvinata, P. rugelii, P. sessiliflora, P. setacea, P. virginica, P. wilkinsonii
Synonyms Siphonychia rugelii, Gibbesia rugelii, Odontonychia interior, P. rugelii var. interior, Siphonychia interior Anychia argyrocoma, P. argyrocoma subsp. albimontana, P. argyrocoma var. albimontana
Name authority (Chapman) Shuttleworth ex Chapman: Fl. South. U.S. ed. 3, 397. (1897) (Michaux) Nuttall: Gen. N. Amer. Pl. 1: 160. (1818)
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