Authors:
Grey and cushion-forming to 20 by 20cm, easily confused with those of R, mammilaris, but best distinguished by their leaf hairs. These are shorter and more appressed in R. bryoides, allowing the shape of the leaves to be seen from above, while in R. mammilaris they are longer, so that the plant looks from above like a collection of tiny shaving brushes. The two species are easily distinguished in flower by the papery bracts which surround the flowerheads, white-tipped in R. mammilaris but not in R. bryoides. South Island, on the drier mountains at altitudes ranging from 1200m-1800m in frost shattered but relatively stable rocks and screes. Although one of the faster growing cushion species it is difficult to keep for long. [Pl.409,410].
