Scirpus basilaris (Hook.f.) C.B.Clarke
Dwarf, dense, moss-like tufts to ± 5 cm high with stems hidden among numerous leaves. Inflorescence of 1- (2) pale green spikelets. Stamens usually 2. Style-branches usually 2. Nut minute, suborbicular, plano-convex, almost black.
N. Hawkes Bay and Wellington; local. S. Marlborough - Kaikoura; Canterbury; Otago; Southland. In damp sand on margins of inland lakes, occasionally on coastal river and salt flats; lowland to montane.
