Patosia clandestina (Phil.) Buchenau

Perennials forming dense, very hard cushions up to several meters in diam. and 0.5 m high. Individual plants 5–15 cm long, ±regularly forked; stems covered with short spirally arranged wilted leaves and a few green leaves distally. Leaves 1.5–2 cm long, inserted 1–2 mm apart; sheaths as long as or longer than the blade, to 5 mm wide; auricles obtuse, sometimes fused and liguliform; blade linear, 0.5–0.7 mm wide, acuminate, proximally canaliculate, terete in the middle, distally flat with finely serrate margin; leaf seemingly jointed. Staminate flowers exserted on filiform pedicels 1–2 cm long; bracteole 4.0–4.5 mm long; tepals subequal, 5–7 mm long; anthers 2.5–3.5 mm long, mucronate; filaments c. 0.2–0.3 mm long. Pistillate flowers sessile and hidden in axil with only stigmas exserted above the cushion; tepals linear to lanceolate, to 18 mm long; ovary ellipsoid, to 2 mm long, tapering to the filiform 10 mm long style; stigmas 3, filiform, to 8 mm long, papillose, not tapering, exserted. Capsule narrowly ellipsoid, acuminate, 10 × 2 mm. Seeds of irregular shape.