Small herbs, tufted annuals, or cushion-forming perennials. Leaves linear-filiform and crowded at base of stem, or, in perennial cushion plants, densely imbricate up stem, with stiff, terete, compressed or channelled laminae. Flowers numerous, in a terminal complex "spike" within 2 ± opposite, unequal glume-like bracts. Pseudanthia (partial inflorescences) within each bract 1-8- (20), each with 1-3, or 0 hyaline bracteoles. Male flowers 1 or 0 per pseudanthium with 1-celled anther. Female flowers (1) -2-20 in each pseudanthium, ± connate and superposed in 1-2 rows, all styles free or ± connate at base. Fruit dehiscing longitudinally. Spp. c. 25 of Australia, N.Z., Malaysia and S.E. Asia. C. strigosa of Australia is now regarded as adventive in N.Z., the other 3 N.Z. spp. are endemic.

Fls ∞, in a complex "spike" within 2 ± opp., unequal, glume-like bracts. Partial infls (pseudanthia) 1–8–(20) within each bract, each with 1–3, or 0 hyaline scales. ♂, 1 or 0 per pseudanthium with 1-celled anther. ♀, (1)–2–20 in each pseudanthium, ± connate and superposed in 1–2 rows, all styles free or ± connate at the base. Fr. dehiscing longitudinally. Small herbs, tufted and annual, or perennial and cushion-forming. Lvs linear-filiform and crowded at base of stem, or, in perennial cushion plants, densely imbricate up the stem, with stiff, terete, compressed or channelled lamina. Flowering stems slender, terminated by the 2 floral bracts and "spike". About 25 spp. chiefly in Australia, extending through Malaysia to Southeast Asia. Three N.Z. spp. are endemic and occurs also in Australia.