Paronychia argentea

Paronychia argentea, commonly called sanguinaria or nevadilla, is a herbaceous plant of the caryophyllaceae family; growing in sandbanks, roads, abandoned fields and dry land. It is the host plant of the insect Phyllomorpha laciniata.

Inflorescence

View of the plant in its habitat

Description

Annual species with a procumbent habit, reaching 30 cm in height. Similar to Paronychia capitata but with nearly glabrous leaves and prominent stiff bristles and calyx lobes with transparent margins. The stem is glabrous or pubescent with opposite, elliptic, stiplate, and mucronate leaves.
The flowers are presented in lateral and terminal glomeruli. They are hermaphrodites, pentamerous and actinomorphic, accompanied by scarious-silver bracts larger than themselves. The fruit is an achene.

Distribution and habitat

Throughout the Mediterranean. It lives in vacant or dry land, dunes and ditches. Blooms from winter to summer.

Uses

It was used, cooked, as a diuretic and blood purifier ("sanguinaria") and as a poultice to heal wounds.

Taxonomy

Paronychia argentea was described by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and published in Flore Françoise, vol. 3, p. 230, 1778.

Cytology

Number of chromosomes: 2n=28

Sinonimia

• Paronychia nitida Gaertn. 1791
• Paronychia mauritanica (Schult.) Rothm. & Q.J.P.Silva 1939
• Paronychia italica (Vill.) Schult. in Roem. & Schult. 1819
• Paronychia cuatrecasii Sennen 1929
• Paronychia folderna Pau 1895
• Illecebrum mauritanicum Schult. in Roem. & Schult. 1819
• Illecebrum maritimum Vill. 1801
• Paronychia pubescens DC. in Lam. & DC. 1805
• Paronychia glomerata Moench 1794
• Chaetonychia paronychia (L.) Samp.
• Ferriera mediterranea Bubani
• Illecebrum argenteum Pourr.
• Illecebrum italicum Vill.
• Illecebrum narbonnense Vill.
• Illecebrum paronychia L.
• Plottzia paronychia (L.) Samp.

Common names

• Blend: snatch, spider, spider, spider, spider, spider