Dr. Anderson's description led to the establishment of two subspecies of the Papery Nailwort: the Papery Nailwort found along the Lake Wales Ridge and the Crystal Lake Nailwort,* found only in Bay and Washington Counties. Both subspecies are listed as Threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Endangered by the State of Florida due to their limited distribution and small number of known populations.

The Crystal Lake Nailwort is quite small, grows close to the ground, has separate male and female plants, and is an annual plant. This means that it grows each year from seeds produced by the female plant the previous year. Both sexes are about 6 inches long at maturity with very small light green leaves and very small white flowers. The female plants are more compact than the spindly male plants.

The Crystal Lake Nailwort is known from about 15 locations within its range and most of the locations are on private property surrounding karst ponds where it grows on the exposed white sand beaches of the ponds and lakes. However, one of the known locations is not associated with a karst pond and is an unusual habitat for the plant.

In 2000, we were surveying plants for the Northwest Florida Water Management District when we discovered Crystal Lake Nailwort growing on the bare, white and orange-colored sand on top of a hill in northern Bay County.

The site appears to have been man-made based on an aerial photograph from 1978. The site was planted with longleaf pine trees as part of the District’s restoration of the natural community in the area in 1998. The planting was accomplished prior to the recognition of the Crystal Lake Nailwort on the site.

Dr. Anderson confirmed the identification of specimens that we collected from the site, and he and others visited the site to confirm the location. Dr. Kathy Craddock-Burkes of the FDEP named the site Paronychia Hill after the botanical name for the species.

Tree Growth Is Altering Habitat
We have visited the site at least once each year since its discovery and noticed during the summer of 2006 that the pine trees had finally begun to increase in size and were providing some shade and needle litter on the site. This species does not appear to grow well in shade or on litter covered substrate.

We asked the District for permission to remove the trees from the site to prevent additional shading and litter accumulation. Permission was granted. On October 9, 2006, Mr. John Valenta of the District and the writers removed the pines from about 0.6 acre of the white sand area at the site and left the pines standing on the orange sand as a control (about 1.0 acre).

The site will be visited each year to observe the presence or absence of the plants, and the growth and shading of the area by the remaining trees. Studies are being considered that would add information regarding the habitat requirements of the subspecies, particularly at this unusual site.

*Footnote
Paronychia chartacea botanical name for the species
Paronychia chartacea chartacea botanical name for Papery Nailwort
Paronychia chartacea minima botanical name for Crystal Lake Nailwort