Paronychia drummondii Torrey & A. Gray, Drummond’s nailwort. Annual, taprooted, 1–stemmed at base, rosetted, branched ca. 10 mm above taproot, the branches spreading, 2–forked 1—several–×, canopy flat–topped, 7—22 cm tall; shoots with basal leaves and cauline leaves, basal leaf blades absent at flowering but scarious stipules present, in range short–hairy.
Stems ± cylindric (oval in ×–section), swollen at node and to 1.5 mm diameter at mid–internode, tough, hairs uniform and < 0.3 mm long
Leaves opposite decussate, simple, petiolate (basal leaves) and subsessile (cauline leaves), with stipules; stipules 2, attached across node between leaves, scarious, acuminate–ovate, 6—9.5 mm long, glabrous, persistent and large stipules often splitting upward; petiole indistinct from blade, flattish to 4 mm long (basal leaves) and channeled and < 1 mm long (cauline leaves); blade linear–oblanceolate, pairs equal at node, 8—21 × 1.5—4.5 mm, long–tapered at base, entire, acute at tip, 1–veined with midrib raised on lower surface, short–villous with ± upward–pointing hairs.
Inflorescence cyme, terminal, the oldest flower solitary at the lowest fork, at subsequent forks internodes progressively shorter so forming headlike clusters, bracteate; bracts leaflike but diminutive with scarious stipules, decreasing upward and with blades, stipules decreasing to 1 mm long; bractlet subtending pedicel short–petiolate, 2—3 mm long, elliptic to obovate with short point at tip, minutely bumpy (vesicular); pedicel short.
Flower bisexual, radial, 1—2 mm across; hypanthium light yellow–green, with tiny hooked hairs; sepals 5, helically alternate, erect (never spreading), to 2 mm long, mostly dark green with wide membranous margins, above level of membranous margins upper portion somewhat fleshy and bright white with outward–pointing straight tip to 0.5 mm long, on inner side hooded (blocking center of flower) and folded margins holding anthers, green tissue and membranous margins with ascending short hairs, white surface beaded (vesicular); stamens 5 fertile and to 5 staminodes without anthers; filaments 0.2—0.7 mm long, white; anthers dorsifixed, dithecal, 0.5—0.6 mm long, dull yellow, longitudinally dehiscent; pollen yellow; nectar absent; pistil 1, 0.7—0.8 mm long, light to pale green; ovary superior, broadly ellipsoid, 1–chambered with 1 ovule; style tapered to tip from midpoint of pistil, with 2 minute stigma lobes.
Fruit utricle, with thin papery wall and persistent style, 1–seeded.
Seed oval, 0.8 mm long, glossy orange–brown, with fine network seen through seed coat.
A. C. Gibson