From ka_lupto'V,covered+ o + pw'gwn,-wnoV, beard; referring to the ragged margin of the calyptra.
Plants growing in tufts or mats, yellowish green above, brown below. Stems branching occasionally, 2–4 cm in length, transverse section rounded-pentagonal, central strand absent, sclerodermis present, hyalodermis present, occasionally only in patches; axillary hairs to 7 cells in length, all hyaline or 1–2 basal cells thick-walled; sparsely to densely radiculose. Leaves incurved or catenulate, margins extremely undulate when dry, widely spreading and reflexed when moist, long-ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 3.5–4.5 mm in length, upper lamina flat to somewhat keeled, margins plane, nearly entire, minutely serrulate with projecting transverse cell walls and papillae, bordered intramarginally throughout length of leaf by 3–4 rows of rectangular epapillose porose cells as an extension of the region of differentiated basal cells; apex acute, often narrowly channeled, extreme cells bordering the mucro rhomboid; base little differentiated in shape but tubulose-clasping; costa evenly tapering, excurrent as a papillose mucro, superficial cells short-rectangular and distantly papillose ventrally, elongate and distantly papillose with forward-pointing cell ends dorsally, ca. 4 rows of cells across costa ventrally at midleaf, costal transverse section ovate, stereid band absent ventrally, strong dorsally and crescent-shaped, lumens of stereid cells smaller towards dorsal surface, substereid near guide cells, ventral epidermis of bulging or conic cells, dorsal epidermis absent, guide cells 2–4(–6) in 1(–2) layers, hydroid strand very large, ventral costal cells often protuberant as scattered, ovate, thick-walled cells; upper laminal cells irregularly hexagonal, occasionally longitudinally or transversely elliptic, ca. 12–16 µm in width, ca. 1:1, walls trigonous, porose, superficially weakly convex on both sides; papillae small, simple to bifid, conic-spiculose, solid, 3–4 per lumen, evenly scattered over the lamina; basal cells differentiated across leaf, rising higher marginally and fusing with the intramarginal border, rectangular, little wider than upper cells, to 5–6:1, walls evenly thickened to porose. Propagula multicellular, caltrop-shaped, 20–30 µm in diameter, borne on the ventral surface of the costa. Dioicous. Perichaetia terminal, inner leaves strongly differentiated, linear-lanceolate, to 12–13 mm in length, strongly sheathing, convolute, cells entirely rectangular to long-rhomboidal, thick-walled and porose. Perigonia born terminally on an equal-sized perigoniate plant as gemmate buds, often several per plant, each ending a branch. Seta short, ca. 0.5 cm in length, 1 per perichaetium, brown, twisted clockwise; theca 1.8–2.2 mm in length, brown, short-rectangular, occasionally curved, exothecial cells rectangular, evenly thickened, ca. 20 µm in width, 2–4:1, stomates phaneropore, at base of capsule, annulus of 3–4 rows of somewhat vesiculose, persistent cells; peristome often coming off with the operculum, teeth 32, filamentous, densely low-spiculose, to 500 µm, with many articulations, twisted once counterclockwise, basal membrane high, to 300 µm in height, with round, thin-walled windows, densely low-spiculose. Operculum conic, ca. 1.5 mm in length, cells twisted counterclockwise. Calyptra cucullate, somewhat rough above, ragged and longitudinally undulate below, smooth, ca. 3 mm in length. Spores ca. 13–15 µm in diameter, brown, essentially smooth. Laminal KOH color reaction red, often blotchy, or yellow with red blotches, or yellow-orange.