Plants small, caespitose, light green; terricolous. Stems 5-8 mm high, sparsely branched, with reddish tomentum below; in section round, central strand small, inner cortical cells in 2-4 rows, large, thin-walled, outer cortical cells in 1-2 rows, stereids, dark red, epidermal cells fragile, thin-walled, quickly eroded and stem becoming fluted. Leaves erect-spreading to widespreading dry or wet; narrowly lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, (1.2-)1.5(-2.2) mm long, lamina unistratose; apex long-acuminate; margins ±plane, serrulate, frequently by projecting ends of adjoining cells. Costa excurrent to long-excurrent, superficial cells rectangular, smooth below, weakly prorate in upper leaf; in section rounded, bulging dorsally, guide cells 4, larger than other cells, incrassate, ventral stereid or substereid band 2 cells thick, exposed, dorsal stereid band 3 cells thick, rarely substereids, surface cells not differentiated. Laminal cells long-rectangular throughout, thickened, 7-12:1, papillae few and somewhat scattered, over lumen or displaced toward proximal end; basal cells not strongly differentiated, mostly 10:1, generally less than 15 cells wide on each side of costa; alar cells forming small group of quadrate cells, 2-3 cells wide by ±4 cells high. Autoicous. Perigonia terminal on branches. Perichaetia terminal, leaves slightly short and broader than vegetative leaves; ovate-acuminate, 1.5-2.0 mm long. Seta 5-10 mm long, reddish brown; capsule ±erect to inclined, urn globose and smooth wet, ±quadrate and sulcate dry, 1.0-1.2 mm long; exothecial cells oblong-hexagonal, thin-walled, at mouth with 4-5 rows of transversely rectangular cells; stomata present at base of urn, phaneropore; peristome absent, occasionally with whitish fringe at mouth; operculum conic to convex-apiculate; calyptra not seen; spores large, subround, 50 µm, warty, red-brown.
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