''Paronychia ahartii'' is a species of flowering plant in the family

Caryophyllaceae Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranthaceae, Cactacea ...

known by the common name Ahart's nailwort. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where it is known from three counties at the northern edge of the

Sacramento Valley , photo =Sacramento Riverfront.jpg , photo_caption= Sacramento , map_image=Map california central valley.jpg , map_caption= The Central Valley of California , location = California, United States , coordinates = , boundaries = Sierra Nevada (ea ...

where it rises into the southern slopes of the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

. It is a plant of moist, rocky habitat, such as vernal pools. This is a petite plant producing a nearly invisible stem from a threadlike taproot. The plant is only about a centimeter wide and somewhat spherical in shape. It is a tiny patch of bristle-tipped green leaves a few millimeters in length with oval-shaped stipules. The single flower occurring in each leaf axil has no petals but white, rough-textured, awn-tipped

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s clustered around the leaves.

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileFlora of North AmericaPhoto gallery
ahartii Endemic flora of California Plants described in 1985 Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Caryophyllaceae-stub