Paronychia franciscana
| Paronychia franciscana | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Caryophyllaceae |
| Genus: | Paronychia |
| Species: | P. franciscana
|
| Binomial name | |
| Paronychia franciscana | |
Paronychia franciscana is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names San Francisco nailwort, California Whitlow-wort, Franciscan paronychia,[1] and Chilean nailwort.[2] It is native to Chile, but it was first described from specimens collected in San Francisco, California, in the United States, where it is an introduced species.[3]
This species is a mat-forming perennial herb growing from a woody caudex. The branching stems stretch prostrate along the ground, reaching up to 50 centimetres (20 inches) in length. The fleshy, somewhat hairy leaves are up to a centimeter long, including their spiny tips. They cover the stems densely. The inflorescence is a tightly packed cyme of two to six flowers emerging from between leaves. They have no petals, but five tiny green to reddish sepals. The fruit is a utricle just over a millimeter long.[4][5]
This species' native range is in mainland Chile. It is present as an introduction and a weed in the Juan Fernández Islands, particularly Robinson Crusoe Island and Alejandro Selkirk Island, off the Chilean coast. It is also a non-native weed in New South Wales and Victoria in Australia.[6] It has been known from the San Francisco Bay Area since 1887,[4] where it was a common introduced plant growing on the grounds of the Presidio before it ever had a name. Botanist Alice Eastwood used California specimens to give the plant its formal name.[3]
References[edit]
- ^ Calflora. 2013. Paronychia franciscana. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database.
- ^ Doust, A. (1999). Paronychia franciscana. PlantNET - The Plant Information Network System of The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney, Australia.
- ^ a b Eastwood, A. (1901). An undescribed species of Paronychia from California. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 28(5) 288-89.
- ^ a b Paronychia franciscana. Flora of North America.
- ^ Paronychia franciscana. The Jepson Manual.
- ^ Paronychia franciscana. US Forest Service, Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER).