(Paronychia ahartii )
Carophyllaceae (Pink family)
Photo by J. Molter, BLM
Description: Small, almost inconspicuous annual plant that's 3/16 to 1/2 of an inch tall (5 to 12 mm), consisting of a tight slivery, spheric, cluster of stipules, bracts and sepals, surrounded by small leaves and arising from a slender taproot.
Distribution: On public lands administered by BLM's Redding Field Office, found on the floor and foothill terraces of upper Sacramento Valley in southern Shasta, Tehama and nothern Butte counties.
Habitat: Rocky, sterile, clay-rich terraces soils; growing on the most stony microsites within its habitat, where the density of competing annual plants is low.
Flowering Period: April to June
Similar Plants: The only other Paronychia in the state is Paronychia franciscanna, a mat-forming perennial, found along the coast.
Status: BLM Sensitive, California Native Plant Society List 1B