Flora of New Zealand Series

Glabrous annual herb. Stems decumbent, terete, 1.5-4 cm long. Lvs dark green or glaucous, cuneate to short petiole, narrow-oblong or oblanceolate, subacute, 3-5 mm long. Fls solitary; peduncles slender, 3-10 mm long, erect. Bracts leaflike. Sepals lanceolate or narrowly ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, 2-3 mm long, weakly 1-veined; margins narrowly scarious. Petals 0. Stamens 5-10. Capsule ovoid or globose, slightly < or = sepals. Seeds red-brown, 0.6-0.7 mm long; tubercles large, rounded.

N.: Cape Kidnappers, Lake Rotoatara; S.: Canterbury (Ashburton and Waitaki Valley), C. Otago.

Endemic.

Bare places in grassland.

S. elatinoides may be extinct as there are no recent collections.