Annual marsh herb; stems erect or procumbent, 2–5 cm tall, mostly c. 0.5 mm diam., rooting only at the base. Leaves alternate, linear to terete, lowermost rarely trifid, 1.5–7 mm long, margins entire. Bracteoles linear, c. 0.3 mm long, straw-coloured; flowers solitary, sessile. Male flowers: sepals absent; petals 4, 0.4–0.5 mm long, red; stamens 2. Female flowers: sepals and petals absent; ovary 4-celled, styles sessile, stigmas white. Fruit globular, yellow-brown to reddish; mericarps ovoid, 0.6–1 mm long, smooth to minutely granular, apex oblique. Flowers Aug.–Jan.
LoM, MuM, Wim, GleP, VVP, VRiv, MuF, GipP, OtP, WaP, Gold, CVU, GGr, DunT, NIS, HSF, HNF, VAlp. Also SA, Tas. Scattered widely across northern and western Victoria but less common in the south-east. Grows in winter-wet depressions and other wet areas and is often inconspicuous amongst larger swamp plants.
Jeanes, J.A. (1996). Haloragaceae. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 3, Dicotyledons Winteraceae to Myrtaceae, pp. 887–908. Inkata Press, Melbourne.
