Empodisma minus,[1] commonly known as (lesser) wire rush or spreading rope-rush, is a perennial evergreen belonging to the southern-hemisphere family of monocotyledonous plants Restionaceae.

[4] In 2012, the new species Empodisma robustum was described in New Zealand, with what was previously described as E. minus from the lowland raised bogs of Waikato and Northland now being re-classified as E.

In both regions it grows from coastal to alpine areas, preferring fens, bogs, heaths, swamps and stream margins.

[3] Empodisma minus has been classified as the dominant species in the ombrotrophic mires of New Zealand, mainly due to its high peat-forming ability[9] and could even be called an ecosystem engineer for fen-to-bog transitions.

[3] Empodisma minus is also the host plant for the larvae of the endemic New Zealand species of moth Aponotoreas synclinalis.