Plants dark green to black, small to large, often in dense turf. Stems erect, irregularly branched, bearing rhizoids at base; central strand absent. Leaves erect or secund, sometimes falcate-secund, short-to long-lanceolate or panduriform; costa absent or single or branched, narrow to broad, percurrent or ending before the apex; in section of uniform cells, lamellae absent; margins plane to weakly incurved, seldom recurved; laminal cells short throughout or occasionally elongate in leaf base, 1-stratose or 2-to multistratose. Specialized asexual reproduction rare, as filamentous gemmae from laminal cells. Sexual condition usually autoicous, mainly cladautoicous but occasionally gonioautoicous or dioicous; perichaetial leaves commonly differentiated, larger, convolute-sheathing. Sporophytes terminal on an elongate gametophytic stalk, the pseudopodium. Seta essentially absent. Capsule erect, elliptic, opening by usually 4 lateral longitudinal valves; stomata, annulus, operculum and peristome absent. Calyptra tiny, campanulate-mitrate, often fugacious. Spores spheric, oval or tetrahedral, small to large, 10 to occasionally more than 100 µm, papillose.
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