Colobanthus masonae L.B.Moore

Plant forming a cushion up to 7 cm. across and with strong tap root. Branches many, up to 3 cm. long, clothed with long-persistent bases of dead lvs. Lvs rather soft, patent or recurved; sheath pale, short; blade c. 7 × 1 mm., narrow-oblong, bluntly contracted into short apicula, and with very narrow colourless border. Peduncles short. Fls c. 5 mm. long; sepals 5 (occ. fl. is 4-merous), broader than lvs, broadly triangular to oblong, obtuse with small apicula, with very narrow membr. border; capsule valves 5, c. ⅔ length of sepals when just mature; seeds differing from those of all other N.Z. spp. in bearing sharply pointed papillae.

[From: Allan (1961) Flora of New Zealand. Volume 1.]

Flowering: Dec.–Jan.; Fruiting: Jan.–Feb.