Plants small to medium-sized, turfs or mats, dark green, yellow-green, or brownish. Stems short, often deep red, terete-foliate [complanate], not or sparingly branched; transverse section cells moderately differentiated, cortex deeply red pigmented, outer cortical cells somewhat smaller, walls thicker, inner cortical cells somewhat larger, walls thinner, central strand usually absent; pseudoparaphyllia absent [rarely filamentous]; rhizoids from stem base, sometimes clustered below leaf base, sparingly branched (not 2-or 3-pinnate); axillary hair cells hyaline, 3-4(-12), basal cell usually small, brown. Leaves spirally inserted, crowded, isophyllous [often dorsiventrally differentiated and asymmetric]; margins plane or variably revolute on same stem (throughout one side, partially proximally or distally), entire, serrate, or ciliate, bordered [rarely not bordered]; costa usually single, stout; alar cells not differentiated; laminal cells short, usually rounded, isodiametric [oval], rhomboidal, hexagonal, or elongate-hexagonal, smooth, walls usually firm or incrassate. Specialized asexual reproduction various, infrequent to common. Sexual condition autoicous or synoicous [dioicous]. Seta lateral, usually elongate, smooth or roughened to spinose. Capsule erect or inclined; annulus absent [present]; operculum erect, subulate, beaked; peristome diplolepidous, double; exostome teeth 16, thin, not bordered or furrowed [outer plates thick, furrowed, cross striolate], papillose [spiculose throughout]; endostome basal membrane low, segments densely papillose, cilia reduced or absent. Calyptra mitrate, base with [without] fringe of 1-celled [multicellular] hairs, 1-stratose at middle, usually naked, rarely densely hairy.