Plants forming a turf, green to blackish green above, reddish brown below. Stems often branching, ca. 2–4 cm in length, transverse section rounded-pentagonal, central strand present, sclerodermis strong, hyalodermis present; axillary hairs of ca. 10 cells, all hyaline or basal 1–3 cells brownish; rhizoids often present, reddish brown. Leaves conduplicate, twisted, appressed-incurved when dry, widely spreading to squarrose when moist, lanceolate, mostly 2.0–3.0 mm in length, keeled above, margins recurved in lower 1/4–1/2, sharply dentate to erose-dentate in upper 1/4–1/2; apex acute, fragile, often absent; base rectangular, somewhat sheathing, basal margins short-decurrent; costa excurrent as a sharp, smooth mucro, superficial cells elongate ventrally, 3–4 across costa at midleaf, short-rectangular to quadrate above, serrulate dorsally by projecting papillae at distal ends of cells, costal transverse section reniform, two stereid bands present, the dorsal crescent-shaped, epidermis absent or weakly differentiated ventrally, present dorsally as cells with enlarged lumens, guide cells 2–4 in 1 layer, hydroid strand sometimes present; upper laminal cells subquadrate to rounded-hexagonal, mostly 7–10 µm in width, 1:1, walls thin, superficially bulging, bistratose in patches across leaf; papillae crowded, multifid or 1–4 irregular plates per lumen, solid or hollow; basal cells differentiated across leaf base, rectangular, 8–15 µm in width 3–5:1, walls thin. Dioicous. Perichaetia terminal, inner leaves highly differentiated, long-lanceolate, 4–6 mm in length, convolute-sheathing, lower cells long-rhomboidal in lower 1/2–7/8. Perigonia terminal, leaves little differentiated from the cauline. Seta ca. 1 cm in length, 1 per perichaetium, brown, twisted clockwise above; theca 2.5–3.5 mm in length, brown, ellipsoidal to cylindrical, exothecial cells short-rectangular, 1–3:1, stomates present at base of theca; annulus of ca. 2 rows of strongly vesiculose cells, deciduous in pieces; peristome absent, operculum short-conic to conic-rostrate, 0.5–1.0 mm in length, cells straight. Calyptra cucullate, smooth, ca. 3.0 mm in length. Spores 13–15 µm in diameter, weakly papillose, brown. Laminal KOH color reaction red.