Plants mostly medium sized to rather large, forming mats or wefts, usually glossy green, portions often black. Stems pendent to creeping or spreading, irregularly to regularly pinnately branched; flagellate branches frequent; in cross-section outer 3-6 rows of cells small, thick-walled, inner cells thin- to somewhat thick-walled, central strand present or more often absent; pseudoparaphyllia absent; rhizoids often clustered beneath. Leaves often differentiated between stem and branch, erect to wide-spreading, broadly ovate to lanceolate, weakly concave or not, apex short acute to more commonly acuminate, base rounded or auriculate; costae single and weak or absent; median cells linear, smooth or various papillose, often porose; basal cells often porose; insertion cells often golden-yellow; alar region weakly differentiated or not. Dioicous, rarely autoicous. Perichaetia lateral; leaves often differentiated. Seta short to somewhat elongate, smooth to distally papillose or roughened. Capsule immersed to exserted, erect to inclined, urn ovoid to broadly cylindrical; stomata usually present, at urn base, superficial; operculum rostrate; peristome double, exostome teeth 16, papillose to cross-striate below, papillose distally; endostome basal membrane low to somewhat high, segments 16, often keeled and perforate, lightly papillose, cilia absent or rudimentary. Calyptra mitrate or cucullate, base not lobed, smooth, naked or hairy. Spores usually spherical, smooth to papillose.