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Rugel's nailwort, sand squares

spreading nailwort

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

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

prostrate to sprawling, much-branched, 8–15 cm, scabrous-puberulent to puberulent throughout.

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, 2–8 mm, apex acuminate, entire;

blade linear, 8–15(–23) × 0.5–1 mm, leathery, apex shortly cuspidate, puberulent.

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, ± ovate, with prominently enlarged hypanthium and calyx tapering only slightly distally, 2.3–3.5 mm, puberulent;

sepals green to purple-brown, midrib and lateral pair of veins ± obscure, oblong to lanceolate-oblong, 1.7–2 mm, leathery to rigid, margins whitish to translucent, 0.05–0.1 mm wide, scarious, apex terminated by awn, hood prominent, rounded-triangular, awn divergent, conic in proximal 1/2–2/3 with yellowish, scabrous spine 0.7–0.9 mm;

staminodes filiform, 0.5–0.8 mm;

style 1, cleft in distal 1/3–2/3, 0.8–1.4 mm.

Cymes

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

terminal, 3–7-flowered, branched, congested, in clusters 7–25 mm wide.

Utricles

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

± ovoid, 0.8–0.9 mm, smooth, glabrous.

2n

= 32.

Paronychia rugelii

Paronychia depressa

Phenology Flowering late spring–fall. Flowering summer.
Habitat Woodlands, fields, clearings, roadsides, waste places Dry plains, rocky ridges, hillsides
Elevation 0-200 m (0-700 ft) 800-3000 m (2600-9800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
FL; GA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CO; SD; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Of conservation concern.

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

Paronychia depressa is considered to be closely related to the nearly allopatric P. jamesii.

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

Source FNA vol. 5, p. 41. FNA vol. 5, p. 36.
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. argyrocoma, P. baldwinii, P. canadensis, P. chartacea, P. congesta, 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 P. jamesii var. depressa, P. depressa var. brevicuspis, P. depressa var. diffusa
Name authority (Chapman) Shuttleworth ex Chapman: Fl. South. U.S. ed. 3, 397. (1897) (Torrey & A. Gray) Nuttall ex A. Nelson: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 26: 236. (1899)
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