Mossia

Dwarf, prostrate perennials; stems wiry to slightly woody, 1-1.5 mm in diameter, with distinct nodes and internodes; pinkish green when young, brown when old. Leaves opposite, similar, connate at base, trigonous to club-shaped, usually shorter than 10 mm, glabrous, dull sea-green to dark green; epidermis with tanniniferous idioblasts, resulting in a slightly verrucose surface. Flowers solitary, terminal, subsessile or shortly pedicellate, +/- 10 mm in diameter; opening at night; faintly sweet-scented. Sepals 5, subequal, united at base to form a short tube, ovate-triangular, longer than petals, pinkish green. Petals 1- or 2-seriate, inserted at base of calyx tube, free, narrowly linear to subspatulate, obtuse or occasionally acuminate, +/- 4 ' 1.0-1.5 mm, papery, off-white with a slight cream tinge. Stamens erect to slightly inflexed, inner whorl bearded at base; staminodes present or 0; pollen yellowish, tricolpate, semitectate with reticulate sculpture and supratectal spinules. Nectary a dark green, crenulate ring, broken +/- clearly into 5 parts corresponding with sepals. Ovary deeply concave on top; placentas basal to parietal; stigmas 5(6), subulate, 2 mm long, curved outwards. Fruit a 5(6) locular capsule, +/- of Delosperma type but without valve wings; expanding tissue composed of radial, contiguous keels to apex of each valve and expanding sheet; covering membranes 0 but ledges of deeply split septa may cover locules slightly; closing bodies 0 but funicles conspicuous, swelling when wet. Seeds ovoid, smooth. F lowering early to mid-summer. D istinguishing characters: creeping, very small perennials; flowers with hypanthium, white, opening at night.