Plants erect to decumbent in olive-green to green turfs, to 3 cm high, mostly with more than 10 pairs of leaves which coil at apices when dry. Leaves, when moist, spreading from stem at about a 45 degree angle, to 3 mm long, 4–6: 1, ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, gradually contracted to a somewhat acuminate apex. Vaginant lamina about 4: 1, extending above midleaf, the two sides converging at an acute angle, usually homostichous. Dorsal lamina tapering to extinction near the leaf base, not decurrent. At least some of the median cells of the apical and dorsal lamina as large as 15 µm broad, bulging to smooth, mostly transparent, rather thin-walled, isodiametric-hexagonal, with angular lumens and no corner thickenings. Costa to 35 µm broad at base, pellucid and straight above, mostly not tapering, ending a few cells below the apex. Margin regularly crenulate below, becoming serrate to dentate near the apices. Marginal cells in 1–5 rows somewhat lighter and smaller than interior laminal cells. Stem with small central strand and with thin-walled inner cortical cells abruptly differentiated from the 2–3 layers of smaller, thick-walled outer corticals; lateral cells of outer cortex not differentiated. Axillary hyaline nodules absent. Axillary hairs to 300 µm long, about 10-celled, without basal brown cell.
Dioicous. Perichaetia lateral in lower to middle leaf axils. Setae to 15 mm, yellow to somewhat reddish, straight, smooth. Urn 1–1.5 mm long, cylindrical, inclined and mostly somewhat curved, more than 2: 1. Operculum conic-rostrate, about 1/2 as long as urn. Peristome reddish-brown, to 400 µm long, vertically papillose-striate below, spirally ridged above. Exothecial cells quadrate with angular lumens, rather thick-walled with lumen/wall ratio about 4:1, to 12 µm wide. Spores to 15 µm in diameter, finely papillose.
![University of California [UC]](http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/common/images/logo_uc_80.png){kind=logo}
