Plants terricolous, forming turfs, green above and brown to yellow brown below, reddish in direct sunlight. Stems 1-5 mm, unbranched, in section elliptic, central strand well developed, occasionally represented by a void, sclerodermis weakly differentiated; axillary hairs of ca. 6 entirely hyaline cells. Leaves folded and loosely incurved-contorted when dry, erect-to wide-spreading wet, broadly ovate-elliptical to obovate or somewhat spathulate, 1.2-2.2 mm long, caducous, margins plane throughout or weakly recurved basally, 2-4 rows of smaller and thicker-walled cells forming an indistinct border, sharply dentate above by papillose projections arising from the middle of the exterior cell wall; apex broadly acute, with a distinct, sharp, red apiculus formed by 1 or 2 smooth, thick-walled cells; costa weak, ending 1-3 cells below apex, superficial cells short-rectangular both ventrally and dorsally, in section round to slightly elliptic, ventral and dorsal epidermis well differentiated, dorsal stereid band present but weak and with 2-4 cells, sometimes only substereids present, guide cells 2, in a single layer; laminal cells quadrate to hexagonal, 12-24 x 12-20 µm, collenchymatous, papillae simple, hollow, (2-)3-5(-6) per cell; basal cells quite thin-walled, short-rectangular, 24-26 µm wide, 1.8-2.2 x as long as wide. Specialized asexual reproduction by brown, irregularly shaped, 5-20-celled brood bodies, ca. 40-125 µm, borne on short stalks in the soil on the rhizoids. Apparently dioicous. Perichaetia terminal, leaves undifferentiated, often with 2-3 naked archegonia in upper leaf axils. Perigonia not seen. Sporophyte not seen. Laminal KOH color reaction red.
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