Restio perplexus Kunth

Vegetative parts: plants tangled (Often forming dense cushions), 0.2–0.5 m tall, basal diameter 0.1–1 m, crown diameter 0.1–1 m, with stolons. Fertile culms branching, finely rugulose, olivaceous, 0.2–0.5 m tall, diameter at base 0.2–1 mm, diameter at apex 0.02–0.2 mm. Sheaths closely convoluted, 3–15 mm long, pale brown, apical margins narrowly membranous or broadly membranous, hyaline shoulders small, rounded or membranous margins continuing behind awn, hyaline shoulder 0.1–0.3 of sheath body length, apex, excluding the membranous lobes, acute. Sheath-mucro penicellate or awl- or needleshaped, straight and erect, 1–4 mm long, broad membranous margins that reach to behind the awn.
Males: male inflorescence with 2–5 spikelets or 50–100 spikelets (but rarely more than 5), racemose or paniculate, 5–15 mm long, 5–15 mm wide. Male inflorescence spathes persistent, shorter than spikelets, cartilaginous. Male flowers in spikelets. Male spikelets pendulous on flexible pedicels or erect on stiff pedicels or sessile, oblong or elliptical, apex rounded, 3–7 mm, 1–3.5 mm, with 2–6 flowers, pedicels absent ie spikelets sessile or shorter than the spikelets or longer than the spikelets, terete or angular or flattened. Male bracts as tall as flowers, 2–3.5 mm long, ovate, acute or apiculate, cartilaginous, bract upper margin with honeycombed cells, which eventually decay (not sharply distinct from the body without honey-combed cells), bract awn minute or absent, upper margins narrowly to broadly membranous, flanking the central honey-combed region. Male flower 2–2.5 mm long. Male tepals sepals more rigid than petals, chartaceous or cartilaginous, petals chartaceous or membranous, oblong, inner and outer tepals the same length. Male outer lateral tepals conduplicate, keel sparsely villous. Anthers 1–1.4 mm long, exserted from the flowers. Pistillode present.
Females: female inflorescence with 1 spikelet (Rarely more than 1). Female spathes shorter than the spikelets, persistent, coriaceous. Female spikelet sessile, elliptical or obovate or obtriangular, apex truncate or rounded, 4–7 mm long, with 1 flowers, with 2–5 sterile bracts. Female bracts shorter than flowers or as tall as flowers, 1.5–5 mm long, ovate, acute, chartaceous, apical margin with honeycombed cells, paler than body of bract, awn minute or absent. Female flower 3.5–4.5 mm long, without a fleshy pedicel. Female tepals cartilaginous, glabrous and smooth or keels of lateral sepals sparsely villous, midrib flush with the tepal body, apices acute, inner and outer whorls the same length. Female outer lateral tepals conduplicate, 3.5–4.5 mm long. Female odd outer tepal ovate, 3.5–4.5 mm long. Female inner tepals ovate, 3.5–4.5 mm long. Staminodes present. Styles feathery, 3. Style bases free. Ovary with 2 locules, dehiscent.
Fruit: seed 1.6–2 mm long, 0.8–1.3 mm in diameter, shape in side view elliptical, shape in diameter plano-convex in cross section, tan, smooth; funicular elaiosome present.