Colobanthus squarrosus Cheeseman

Plant a compact multi-branched cushion up to 50(-70) cm diameter and 5-7.5 cm high. Branches leafy for much of length with c. 5-8 pairs of green leaves and numerous persistent, pale brown dead leaves below; internodes (0.1-)0.3-5(-10 .5) mm long. Leaves rigid, spreading to ascending and ± imbricate; sheath (0.6-)1.5-2.5 mm long; blade subulate, (1.4-)4-9(-11) mm long (including the translucent tip), (0.6-)1(-1.4) mm wide, with colourless borders c. 0.1 mm wide, becoming ± channelled when dry, gradually narrowed into a ± acicular tip (0 .3-)0 .5-1(-1 .9) mm long. Inflorescence a solitary flower on a bracteolate peduncle, lateral near branch apex. Flowers predominantly 5-merous, 3.5-5.5 mm diameter. Sepals (4)5, persistent, ovate or ovate-triangular (sometimes broadly), (1.7-)2-5 × 1.2-2.6 mm, margins ± membranous, keel not thickened, inconspicuous, apex usually acute and ± apiculate. Petals 0. Stamens (4)5, (2 .3-)3-5(-7.8) mm long; anthers pale yellow. Ovary ovoid, ovules (9-)25(-44); styles 4 or 5, 1-3.5 mm long. Peduncles ± hidden amongst leaves or shortly exserted at fruiting, (1.1-)3-11(- 19) mm long, with 1(2 or 3) pairs of leaflike bracteoles; bracteoles (1.4-)2-5(-7.5) mm long with a shortly apiculate to acicular tip 0.1-0.5(-0.9) mm long. Capsule splitting to c. half-way, 4- or 5-valved, valves from 1 mm shorter to 1.5 mm longer than sepals. Seeds brown, shiny, colliculate dorsally to ± smooth laterally, ± obliquely reniform, (0.5-)0.7(- 0.85) mm long, (0.4–)0 .5(–0.7) mm wide. FL Nov–Jan; FT Jan–Mar.

[Reproduced from Sneddon (1999, New Zealand J. Bot. 37: 195-204) with permission from The Royal Society of New Zealand.]