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Rugel's nailwort, sand squares

Drummond's nailwort

Habit Plants annual; taproot filiform to slender. Plants annual or biennial; taproot filiform to slender.
Stems

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

sprawling t2o erect, nearly simple to much-branched especially distally, 7–35 cm, retrorsely pubescent on 1 side or 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 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, 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-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

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

terminal, 25+-flowered, much-branched but congested, clusters 5–20 mm wide.

Utricles

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

ellipsoid to subglobose, 0.5–0.8 mm, minutely papillate distally.

Paronychia rugelii

Paronychia drummondii

Phenology Flowering late spring–fall. Flowering spring–fall.
Habitat Woodlands, fields, clearings, roadsides, waste places Sandy woodlands, clearings, roadsides
Elevation 0-200 m (0-700 ft) 0-100 m (0-300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
FL; GA
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[BONAP county map]
from FNA
LA; OK; TX
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[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Of conservation concern.

(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. 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. depressa, 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. drummondii subsp. parviflora
Name authority (Chapman) Shuttleworth ex Chapman: Fl. South. U.S. ed. 3, 397. (1897) Torrey & A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 170. (1838)
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