Low-growing perennial to 4.5 cm, sometimes forming a loosely woven mat to 2 m diam. or more, usually almost entirely covered by soil, rarely flowering and only the short very narrow dull green curved leaves visible; branching extravaginal. Leaf-sheath glabrous, submembranous, much wider than leaf-blade, ribs few, distinct. Ligule 0.2–0.6 mm, subhyaline, obtuse or truncate. Leaf-blade 1–3 cm × 0.2–0.5 mm, setaceous, involute, glabrous, subacute, margins minutely scaberulous. Culm entirely hidden by leaf-sheaths. Panicle rarely present, 10–16 mm, overtopped by leaf-blades, bearing up to 12 spikelets, lowermost branches enclosed by leaf-sheaths, smooth, uppermost branches scaberulous. Spikelets 3–4–(4.8) mm, 4–6-flowered, green to brownish green. Glumes unequal, ovate, obtuse, submembranous; lower 0.6–1 mm, 1-nerved, upper 1.1–1.4 mm, 3-nerved. Lemma 1.8–2.5 mm, 5-nerved, ovate-elliptic, entirely glabrous, midnerve ± reaching subacute apex. Palea ≈ lemma, keels scabrid in upper ⅔. Rachilla 0.4–0.5 mm. Anthers 0.4–0.6 mm. Caryopsis 1.2–1.6 × 0.6–0.7 mm.
[From: Edgar and Connor (2000) Flora of New Zealand. Volume 5 (second printing).]