Annual, fine-leaved, loose tufts, not cushion-forming, 1-2 cm high, half-buried in sand. Leaves to 2 cm long, green or red, filiform, crowded at base. Flowering stems slightly < leaves, bright red. Glume-like bracts each enclosing 1- (2) pseudanthia.

Dense, pale or bright green, moss-like perennial cushions. Leaves to 9 mm long, distichous, closely imbricate, stiff, glabrous. Flowering stems c. = leaves. Glume-like bracts each enclosing 1 or 0 pseudanthia.

Annual, fine-lvd, loose tufts, not cushion-forming, 1–2 cm. high, half-buried in sand. Roots ∞, fine, longer than upper part of plant. Lvs 0.5–2 cm. long, < 0.5 mm. wide, green or red-coloured, crowded at stem base; sheaths transparent, glab., not much wider than lamina. Flowering stems slightly < lvs, c. 0.5 mm. wide, bright red. Glume-like bracts 2, ± opp., ovate, papillose, the outer mucronate, almost completely enclosing the smaller obtuse one; each bract enclosing 1–(2) pseudanthia; hyaline scales 0. ♂ 1 or 0 in a pseudanthium, us. only 1 within each glume-like bract. ♀ 2–6, superposed in 2 series; styles connate at the base.

Dense, pale or bright green, moss-like cushions. Roots comparatively thick, but < 0.5 mm. diam. Stems 1.5–4 cm. long. Lvs 6–9 mm. long, < 0.5 mm. wide, distichous, equitant at the base, closely imbricate up the stem, lamina stiff, erect, glab., subulate, laterally compressed or occ. channelled, narrowed to an acute or occ. shortly acicular tip; lf-sheaths c. ½ length of lamina, very pale cream, membr., without ligule or auricles. Flowering stems c. = lvs. Floral bracts 2, ± opp., unequal in length, the lower larger. Pseudanthia, 1 in each floral bract, or 1 bract without pseudanthium; ♂ 1 only, in the lowermost pseudanthium, at maturity the filament elongated excessively and the anther far exserted; ♀ 1–3–(4) in each pseudanthium; hyaline scales 0. Seed ± 0.5 mm. long, oblong-obovate, apiculate at one end.