Paronychia: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora and Flora of Alberta leading to this genus. 

	plants with woody base
	stipules present, hyaline; NOT [stipules absent]
	leaves with spiny tips
	calyx-lobes much longer than the tube; NOT [calyx-lobes about as long as tube]
	petals absent; NOT [petals usually present]
	fruit indehiscent; NOT [fruit dehiscent]
	fruit 1-seeded; NOT [fruit several-seeded]

Caryophyllaceae: Answers to key questions in Budd's Flora  leading to this family. 

	herbs; NOT [shrubs or trees]
	land plants; NOT [water plants]
	plants NOT parasitic on trees (plants rooted in soil or water); NOT [plants parasitic on branches of trees]
	plant cushion-like
	leaves opposite; NOT [leaves alternate]
	leaves with stipules free or sheathing the stem; NOT [leaves without stipules]
	stipules membranous; NOT [stipules forming a sheath above nodes]
	flowers with only one floral ring, with sepals but not petals
	stamens and pistils in each flower; NOT [stamens or pistils in separate flowers on the same plant]
	plants with stems or stemless, but with more than one pair of leaves; NOT [plants stemless with a single pair of large reniform leaves, calyx 3-lobed]