Authors: Cass.
woody rhizomatous perennial with procumbent wiry stems 2-12cm long. Leaves densely overlapping bright green, ovate-lanceolate, 2 by 1mm, recurved, tipped with twinned fat mucros. Inflorescence globular to hemispherical, 1-1.2cm in diameter. N.p. var. intermedia is generally more robust with stems to 20cm long, leaf blades 2-4mm long, not recurved. Chile and Argentina in rock and soil screes and rock crevices. Var. pygmaea from southern Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego at 450-1200m. var. intermedia from the southern central cordilleras to central Andean Patagonia at 1700-2700m.
