Small herb forming matted to rather open patches up to 3 cm. tall; stems prostrate, rooting at nodes, ascending at tips; internodes up to 1 cm. long, us. less. Lvs ± 2 mm. long, fleshy, ovate-subulate, acute, ± apiculate; lvs of short branches us. imbricate. Fls 2.5-3·5 mm. diam.; peduncles short; calyx divided ± halfway to base, lobes broadly subulate, acute. Petals rose to white, twice length of calyx, broad-oblong, obtuse. Scales 4; carpels ovoid; styles slender, recurved; seeds 8.

n = 28 bivalents

2n = 56

Small annual or sometimes perennial herb forming small to large moss-like mats; stems ± decumbent, rooting at nodes, freely branching from base, ascending to c. 3 cm towards tips. Lvs connate at base, 1-2.4 × 0.6-0.7 mm, 0.3-0.35 mm thick, ± triangular-lanceolate, flattened above, strongly convex and somewhat keeled below; apex acute or apiculate. Fls solitary in upper lf axils, star-like, 4-merous, 3.5-4 mm diam.; pedicels to c. 2 mm long, elongating to 3-(4) mm at fruiting. Calyx lobes 0.5-0.8 × 0.5-0.6 mm, triangular, acute to apiculate. Petals 1.6-1.8 × c. 1.2 mm, broadly elliptic-ovate, white, sometimes pink in centre, rounded, much > calyx. Scales c. 0.7 mm long, oblanceolate. Follicles smooth. Seed c. 0.5 mm long.