Ecology and distribution. At elevations from (300) 2600-3200 m (Venezuela: 3200 m, Colombia: 300?-2615-3100 m, Peru?: 2600-3000 m). North and Central America, possibly widespread in the Andes; Europe, Middle East, Asia.
Didymodon rigidulus var. gracilis is distinguished by the short ot long lanceolate leaves, plane to recurved upper margins that are mostly unistratose or bistratose in patches, percurrent to long excurrent costa, and papillose cells.