Japan Flora: Delicate herb; stems and branches short, 2.5-35 mm. wide, appressed to the ground, forming a loose mat; leaves of lower plane spreading to slighdy deflexed, oblong to ovate-oblong, 1.2-1.7 mm. long, about 1 mm. wide, obtuse to subacute, loosely ciliolate, pale green, slightly dilated on upper margin at base, those of upper plane narrowly ovate, obtuse to sub- acute, about 1 mm. long, ascending; fertile branches erect, simple or once forked, scapiform, 4-8 cm. long, the leaves all alike, ovate, 1.2-1.5 mm. long, acute, ciliolate, pale yellow-green, ascending, rather loosely disposed; spikes slender, solitary or in pairs, 1-3 cm. long, the bracts membranous, similar to the leaves of the scape, obliquely spreading. July-Aug. Alpine slopes;
Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu; rare. s. Kuriles, Korea, China, Siberia to Asia Minor, Europe.