Plants medium-sized, pale green to yellowish-green or variously variegated green and red, to reddish-brown. Stems few to many branched, irregularly to regularly pinnately branched, stem and branch shoots erect to hooked or curved; in cross-section hyalodermis absent or rarely present (then weakly differentiated and partial), central strand absent or present; pseudoparaphyllia foliose; paraphylla absent; rhizoid initials absent or inserted at various points on leaf, particularly near leaf apex. Stem leaves imbricate, rarely spreading straight or falcate, lanceolate to ovate lanceolate or ovate to oblong-ovate, smooth to rarely plicate, often concave, not or only weakly decurrent, apex acuminate to acute or obtuse-rounded to obtuse-apiculate and then often cucullate; margins plane or reflexed at base, entire to finely serrulate at apex, entire below; costa single, ca. 2/3 leaf length to long excurrent; median and upper laminal cells linear, smooth with walls entire or slightly thick-walled and porose; basal and alar cells similar or differentiated, alar region when differentiated irregularly rectangular to triangular or nearly quadrate in outline, cells inflated, short to somewhat long rectangular, rounded, ovoid to oblong, often porose, hyaline, thin- to firm-walled. Dioicous, rarely autoicous. [Setae elongate. Capsules curved and ± horizontal, urn cylindrical; opercula conic; peristome well developed. Calyptrae cucullate, naked. Spores finely papillose].
Plantas medianas, verde pálidas a verde-amarillentas o diversamente multicolores verde y rojo, a marrón-rojizo. Tallos poco a muy ramificados, ramas irregularmente a regularmente pinnadas, vástagos de tallos y ramas erectos a uncinados o curvados; en corte transversal hialodermis ausente o rara vez presente (entonces débil y parcialmente diferenciada), cordón central ausente o presente; pseudoparafilos foliosos; parafilos ausentes; rizoides iniciales ausentes o insertos en varios puntos sobre la hoja, particularmente cerca del ápice de la hoja. Hojas del tallo imbricadas, raras veces patentes rectas o falcadas, lanceoladas a ovadas lanceoladas u ovadas a oblongo-ovadas, lisas a raras veces plegadas, frecuentemente cóncavas, no o solo débilmente decurrentes, ápice acuminado a agudo u obtuso-redondeado a obtuso-apiculados y entonces frecuentemnte cuculado; márgenes planos o reflexos en la base, enteros a finamente serrulado en el ápice, enteros hacia la base; costa simple, ca. 2/3 el largo de la hoja a largo excurrente; células de la lámina medias y superiores lineares, lisas con paredes enteras o paredes escasamente gruesas y porosas; células alares y basales similares o diferenciadas, región alar cuando diferenciada de forma irregularmente rectangular a triangular o casi cuadrada, células infladas, cortas a algo largo rectangulares, redondeadas, ovoides a oblongas, frecuentemente porosas, hialinas, paredes celulares delgadas- a firmes. Dioicas, raras veces autoicas. [Setas alargadas. Cápsulas curvadas y ± horizontales, urna cilíndrica; opérculo cónico; peristoma bien desarrollado. Caliptra cuculada y desnuda. Esporas finamente papilosas].