Plants growing in turfs or cushions, often flagellate, green, often glossy, occasionally glaucous above, light brown below. Stems often branching, to 3(–8) cm in length, occasionally papillose, transverse section rounded-pentagonal to triangular, central strand usually absent, sclerodermis present, hyalodermis usually absent; axillary hairs ca. 8 cells, basal 1–2 cells brownish or occasionally all hyaline; often with a red tomentum. Leaves often distant on stem, appressed-incurved, sometimes twisted or lax when dry, spreading, occasionally squarrose when moist, ligulate to lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, ca. 2.0(–3.5) mm in length, upper lamina keeled, margins plane to broadly recurved (occasionally revolute) along 1 or both sides, entire or rarely serrulate near apex by projecting cell walls, rarely bistratose in patches along margins or medially; apex acute, occasionally obtuse or rounded; base scarcely differentiated in shape to oval or rectangular, occasionally narrowly decurrent; costa often stout, sometimes ending 1–2 cells below apex or percurrent or more usually excurrent as a broad mucro, often “scalloped” along margins by projecting cell walls, superficial cells usually elongate ventrally, short- to long-rectangular dorsally, 2–4 or occasionally several rows of cells across costa ventrally at midleaf, costal transverse section semicircular to round, two stereid bands usually present, the dorsal crescent-shaped, epidermis usually absent ventrally, often absent dorsally, guide cells 2–4 in 1 layer, hydroid strand absent; upper laminal cells usually heterogeneous in size and shape, quadrate to rectangular or rhomboidal, ca. 8–10 µm in width, 1–3:1, walls thin-walled to trigonous, often porose, superficially flat to somewhat convex, seldom bistratose inpatches; papillae low, simple to granular, not obscuring lumens, centered to scattered, rarely absent; basal cells differentiated across leaf, rectangular, little wider than upper cells, 2–4:1, walls thin to porose. Dioicous. Perichaetia terminal, inner leaves weakly differentiated, lanceolate, somewhat longer than the cauline, sometimes sheathing and lower cells inflated-rectangular in lower third. Perigonia terminal, gemmate. Seta to 1 cm in length, 1 per perichaetium, reddish or yellowish brown, twisted clockwise; capsule occasionally systylious, theca ca. 1 mm in length, yellowish or reddish brown, ovoid to short-rectangular, exothecial cells thin- to thick-walled, 1–4:1, stomates phaneropore, at base of capsule, annulus weakly vesiculose; peristome absent. Operculum narrowly rostrate, occasionally long-conic from a flaring base, oblique, ca. 0.5–1.0 mm in length, cells straight. Calyptra cucullate, smooth, ca. 1.0–1.5 mm in length. Spores ca. 13 µm in diameter, brownish, weakly papillose. Laminal KOH color reaction yellow. Reported chromosome number n = 12+m, 13.