Plants small to medium-sized, forming dense cushions, yellow-brown to yellow-green, brownish below; terricolous or saxicolous. Stems 5-10(-15) mm tall, irregularly branched, tomentum dense on lower stem, red-brown; in section subround to angular, central strand small, inner cortical cells in 3 rows, large, thin-walled, outer cortical cells in 2 rows, thickened or substereids, red-yellow, epidermal cells large, thin-walled, fragile, stem becoming fluted. Leaves crowded, erect-appressed in 5 distinct rows wet or dry; narrowly triangular to oblong-lanceolate, 1.0-1.2 mm long, lamina bistratose juxtacostally from base; cells with strongly thickened adjoining walls, outer walls thin, bulging, 4-8 rows at margin unistratose, cells rounded, ± evenly thickened; apex acute, toothed; margins plane below, weakly reflexed above, entire, serrate near apex. Costa short-excurrent as smooth awn, 0.2-0.3 mm long, ventral superficial cells rectangular, weakly prorate and ± thickened near apex, dorsal superficial cells rectangular, strongly prorate at distal ends and ± thickened near apex; in section guide cells not well defined, ±6, substereids, ventral cells in single layer continuous with upper layer of lamina, cells enlarged, inner walls strongly thickened, outer walls very thin-walled, dorsal substereid band 2 cells thick, dorsal surface cells continuous with lower layer of lamina, similar to ventral surface cells. Upper laminal cells rhomboidal to fusiform or narrow-rectangular, 7-10:1, becoming weakly thickened and distally prorate above, slightly narrower toward margin; basal cells rectangular, 2-5:1, thin-walled, smooth. Perigonia terminal on branches, leaves elliptical, yellowish; costa short-excurrent. Perichaetia terminal, leaves similar to vegetative leaves or slightly broader; laminal cells narrow, thin-walled. Seta 3-4 mm long, flexuose, yellow-brown; capsule suberect, urn oval-orbicular wet, elliptical and sulcate dry, 1.5 mm long, red-brown; exothecial cells hexagonal to oblong-hexagonal, 2 rows smaller and quadrate at mouth; stomata present at base of urn, phaneropore; peristome single, fragile, red-yellow, teeth 16, linear, smooth, joined at apex; operculum obliquely rostrate; calyptra not seen; spores oval-reniform, 50-60 µm, reddish brown, with low, bulging, ± hexagonal plates covering distal surface.
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