Disphyma

Prostrate perennials forming dense mats, rooting at nodes, with internodes 20-30 mm long. Leaves opposite, triquetrous, semiterete and sometimes minutely fringed at base, in small rosettes at nodes, hyaline-dotted seen against light, up to +/- 30 mm long, bright green, later becoming reddish or yellowish. Flowers 1-3, terminal, rarely 2 or 3 in dichasia on tufted, short side branches; +/- 40 mm in diameter; pedicels up to +/- 30 mm long, ebracteate; opening at noon, closing by evening. Sepals 5, unequal, inner ones with membranous margins. Petals +/- 2-seriate, linear, obtuse, free; white, pink to purple. Stamens with inner ones papillate at base; staminodes 0. Nectary a deeply crenulate ring. Ovary convex at top; placentas parietal; stigmas 5, subulate, plumose, up to +/- 4 mm long. Fruit a 5-locular capsule, near Mitrophyllum type; pale yellow, spongy; valves becoming reflexed; closing bodies large, bifid, spongy, rarely 0; expanding keels diverging, with lacerate margins; valve wings +/- oblong, as long as valves; covering membranes present. Seeds +/- ovoid. x = 9 ( polyploidy). F lowering winter to early spring. D istinguishing characters: mat-forming perennials; fruit spongy, closing bodies bilobed.