Perennial closely branched, us. yellowish, herb forming low, often very dense and mossy, mat several cm. across, attached by central root system. Lvs evenly and us. closely spaced, 2-4 × 0·5 mm., acuminate with short colourless tips, us. with some short marginal hairs especially near base. Fls single, each with its 2 membr. bracts sessile on top of an axillary peduncle. Sepals 4, acute; stamen 1 on a short ring, filament < sepal length. Fr. c. 2·7 × 1.1 mm. overall, broadest near base where wall is very thick, persistent sepals almost half length of perig. cup; peduncles elongating slightly but not much > lvs when fr. is ripe, retaining the 2 membr. bracts, each < 1 mm. long.

2n = 48

Cushion-forming perennial; stems decumbent, to 5 cm tall, glabrous; internodes c. 1 mm long. Lvs paired, imbricate, linear or ± subulate, glabrous or minutely scabrid on margins near base, acute or shortly acicular, 1.5-5 × 0.3-0.5 mm. Peduncles glabrous, short at flowering, elongating at fruiting to (1)-3-9 mm. Bracts in 1 pair, deltoid, scarious, keeled, 0.5-0.8 mm long. Fls solitary. Sepals 4, narrow-triangular, not scarious, at fruiting connivent and c. 1/2 length of the smooth perigynous zone; whole fr. 1.5-2 mm long. Stamen 1-(2), included in calyx.