Description
Plants 10-23 cm long, relatively robust, much-branched in the lower part with long unbranched extremities.
Hairs of the floral cushion sparse to dense, usually protruding, usually red or white.
Rudimentary leaves together more or less encircling the node, 0.2-1 mm high, leathery, truncate.
Flowers in 2-5 rows, 10-80 per cluster, the opposite clusters not meeting to encircle the stem;
Distribution
Eastern Australia, Lord Howe I present, Lousiade Archipelago present, New Ireland present
Eastern Australia, Lord Howe I.; Malesia: New Guinea (New Ireland, Lousiade Archipelago); possibly more widespread in New Guinea but overlooked owing to the small size of the plants.
Notes
For distinction as a species see Barlow, Brunonia 6 (1983) 52. In unpublished work, Molvray (1990) has proposed the inclusion of K. rubra in a more broadly circumscribed species under the name K. taenioides.
