Plants loosely caespitose to cushion-forming, often rosulate, green or often dark green above, brown below. Stems branching irregularly or simple, to 1.5 cm in length, transverse section rounded-pentagonal, often flattened, central strand very strong, sclerodermis of 1–3 layers (occasionally substereid), hyalodermis present, weak; axillary hairs of ca. 7 cells, all hyaline or basal cell firm-walled; sparsely radiculose. Leaves incurved and tubulose when dry, spreading when moist, long-elliptical to ligulate or broadly lanceolate, often wasp-waisted, 3.5–5.0 mm in length, upper lamina broadly channeled across leaf, margins plane to weakly incurved, distantly denticulate or serrulate to near base, usually strongly serrate near apex, lamina bistratose except along margins; apex acute; base often broadened, elliptical, somewhat sheathing, occasionally with distinct shoulders; costa percurrent, tapering to apex and much broadened below midleaf, superficial cells ventrally quadrate and bulging, dorsally elongate and smooth, 6–19 rows of cells across costa ventrally at midleaf, costal transverse section flattened, reniform or elliptical, two stereid bands present, ventral epidermis present, this bistratose or occasionally tristratose, dorsal epidermis present, unistratose, guide cells 6–16 in 1 layer, hydroid strand present, often multiple, often on both ventral and dorsal sides of guide cells; upper laminal cells quadrate to rounded-hexagonal, 9–12 µm in width, 1:1, walls mostly evenly thickened, lumens occasionally rounded, superficially bulging ventrally and nearly flat dorsally, cells bistratose medially but near the costa not situated directly over each other; papillae absent; basal cells differentiated straight across leaf, bulging-rectangular, 10–18 µm in width, mostly 3–4:1, walls thin, hyaline to yellowish. Dioicous or monoicous (autoicous, synoicous or apparently rhizautoicous). Perichaetia terminal, inner leaves scarcely different from cauline leaves, base often shortly and broadly clasping. Perigonia lateral on archegoniophore stem, as somewhat flattened buds, or very small and terminal on perigoniate plant. Seta ca. 1.0–2.0 cm in length, 1 per perichaetium, yellowish to reddish brown, twisted clockwise; theca 3.0–5.0 mm in length, brown, long-elliptical to long-cylindrical, occasionally somewhat ventricose, exothecial cells 13–20 µm in width, ca. 4–6:1, evenly thick-walled, stomates phaneropore, on neck of theca, annulus of weakly differentiated cells or of up to several layers of highly vesiculose cells, revoluble or deciduous in pieces; peristome teeth of 16 paired teeth or 32 evenly spaced rami, linear-lanceolate to filamentous, papillose to closely branching-spiculose, occasionally also striate below, rudimentary or to 300–700 µm, with several articulations, straight or twisted clockwise weakly once or less, basal membrane absent or very low, essentially smooth. Operculum long-conic to rostrate, 0.6–1.7 mm in length, cells in straight rows or twisted clockwise. Calyptra cucullate, smooth, ca. 3.5 mm in length. Spores 10–13 µm in diameter, yellowish brown, weakly papillose. Laminal color reaction to KOH yellow. Reported chromosome number n = 13, 13+m, 14, 14+m, 14+m+1acc, 15.