Achyronychia
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''Achyronychia'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plant containing the single species ''Achyronychia cooperi'', which is known by the common names onyxflower and frost-mat. This plant is native to the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of northern Mexico and the U.S. states of California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona. In California, it is known from San Diego,
Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...
,
Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...
, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Inyo Counties. In Arizona, it occurs in Yuma, Mohave,
Pima Pima or PIMA may refer to: People * Pima people, the Akimel O'odham, Indigenous peoples in Arizona (U.S.) and Sonora (Mexico) Places * Pima, Arizona, a town in Graham County * Pima County, Arizona * Pima Canyon, in the Santa Catalina Mountains ...
, Pinal and Maricopa Counties. It has also been reported from Washington County in Utah, and from Clark County, Nevada. Onyxflower is a diminutive plant which lies in a small mat flat on the ground. Its habitat is sand. It radiates several prostrate stems in all directions, each only a few centimeters long. The thick pale green leaves are paddle-shaped and under 2 centimeters long. In the leaf
axils A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...
grow dense bunches of tiny flowers. There are no petals, but each flower has five thin shiny white sepals that look like tiny fingernails; the genus name ''Achyronychia'' is Greek for "chaff fingernail".Torrey, John, & Asa Gray. 1868. Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 7(2): 331.
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References


External links


Berkeley.edu - Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA.gov - Plants ProfileBerkeley.edu - photo gallery
Caryophyllaceae Monotypic Caryophyllaceae genera North American desert flora Flora of Arizona Flora of Utah Flora of Nevada Flora of California Flora of Sonora Flora of Baja California Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Caryophyllaceae-stub