Rostkovia novae-zelandiae Buchanan Marsippospermum gracile, common name alpine rush,[4] is a flowering plant species in the rush family Juncaceae which is native to New Zealand.

The stems are 8-40 cm by 0.5 mm., and crowded on the rhizome with reddish brown bracts at their base, the upper conspicuously mucronate.

wide, are terete, rigid, striated, bright green, and shining.

[5] It was first described in 1844 by Joseph Hooker as Rostkovia gracilis,[2][1] but was assigned to the genus, Marsippospermum in 1879 by the German botanist, Franz Georg Philipp Buchenau, to become Marsippospermum gracile.

[2][3] The specific epithet, gracilis/gracile, comes from the Latin, gracilis, meaning "slender, thin, graceful".