Paronychia ahartii
Ahart's nailwort, ahart's paronychia, Ahart'S Paronychia
(c) Trevor Van Loon, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Caryophyllaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Conservation status: CNPS 1B.1
Paronychia ahartii (Ahart's nailwort) is a native California herb in the Caryophyllaceae family, recognized by . Annual with distinctive spherical habit and bristle-tipped leaves.
Ahart's nailwort is a rare (CNPS 1B.1) California native annual found in the Sacramento Valley and Cascade Range Foothills on well-drained, rocky outcrops and vernal pool edges at elevations below 500 meters. Flowering in spring, this tiny plant produces small, inconspicuous flowers with dense white to pale green hairs clustered on the lower half of delicate sepals. Growing with extremely short, nearly hidden stems less than 1.2 centimeters tall, it forms a compact, spherical shape with a slender taproot. Its leaves are narrow and oblanceolate, measuring 2 to 7.5 millimeters long, with scabrous margins and a bristle-tipped green blade. The plant's distinctive sepals have delicate, wavy, thread-like awns 1.5 to 2 millimeters long that spread slightly from the erect sepal tips.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: Geographically isolated, no sympatric species. Annual with distinctive spherical habit and bristle-tipped leaves.
Habitat and range
Habitat: Well-drained, rocky outcrops, often vernal pool edges, volcanic upland
Elevation: < 500 m
California counties: Shasta, Tehama, Butte
Bloom period
Paronychia ahartii blooms Spring.
Conservation status
CNPS 1B.1
How to tell it apart
vs Cardionema: Paronychia sepals are smooth, not densely woolly-fuzzy like Cardionema.; vs Herniaria: Paronychia sepals have white papery edges and bristle tips; Herniaria has blunt green sepals.; vs Achyronychia: Paronychia has narrow sepals with bristles; Achyronychia has broad rounded sepals.; vs Scopulophila: Paronychia lacks the densely woolly cushion base of Scopulophila.; vs Scleranthus: Paronychia has tiny stipules at leaf bases; Scleranthus has none.
Frequently asked questions
Is Paronychia ahartii native to California?
Yes. Paronychia ahartii is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Paronychia ahartii bloom?
Paronychia ahartii blooms Spring.
Where in California does Paronychia ahartii grow?
Paronychia ahartii occurs in Shasta, Tehama, Butte, at elevations of < 500 m.
What plant family does Paronychia ahartii belong to?
Paronychia ahartii is in the Caryophyllaceae family, genus Paronychia.
Is Paronychia ahartii rare or endangered?
Paronychia ahartii carries California Rare Plant Rank 1B.1, state rank S3.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · CNPS Rare Plant Inventory · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos · CDFW CNDDB
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.