Plants small, dark green to yellow-green, scattered or in small tufts; corticolous. Stems erect, 1-2 mm high, unbranched; in section without central strand, cortical cells large, thickened, becoming smaller toward margin. Leaves incurved or contorted dry, erect-spreading wet; oblong or occasionally weakly obovate, 2.0-2.8 mm long; apex acute to obtuse; base not broader than lamina; margins plane, entire, thickened above base, in section forming small knob of 3-5 round cells. Costa short-excurrent, with gemmiferous tip, dorsally spinulose above base; in section oval, guide cells 6, ventral substereid band 5 cells thick, cells irregularly shaped, ventral surface cells slightly smaller than laminal cells, sharply mammillose, dorsal substereid band to 6 cells thick, cells irregularly shaped, dorsal surface cells round, sharply mammillose. Upper laminal cells quadrate to hexagonal, mammillose ventrally, weakly papillose dorsally; marginal cells quadrate, smooth, rectangular below; cancellinae rectangular; teniolae absent. Gemmae fusiform, in apical cluster on all sides of excurrent costa. Sporophyte not known from Africa.
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Plants gregarious or tufted, pale green to brownish, straight or curved at tips when dry, to 5 mm or more but mostly much shorter. Leaves dimorphic; vegetative 1-3 mm; distal lamina oblong to broadly linear-lanceolate; margins 1-stratose or slightly thickened distally, entire; costa in cross section showing ad-and abaxial bands of stereid cells; medial cells distinct, 7-8 µm, slightly bulging adaxially, smooth or minutely papillose abaxially; teniolae absent; cancellinae ending in broad angles distally, adaxial cells smooth distally; gemmiferous leaves with apex of costa excurrent, bearing gemmae in pale golfball-like spheres all around on costa apex.
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