Plants coarse, robust, forming deep, loose turfs, distally sordid yellow-green, proximally pale to dark brown. Stems 3-4(-6) cm, ascending from a prostrate base, sparsely and irregularly branched, hyalodermis present, inconspicuous, sclerodermis of 2-4 rows of thickened cells, central strand with a few, small, thin-walled cells, axillary hairs all hyaline, to 15 cells in length, tomentum lacking. Leaves strongly and loosely incurved-contorted when dry, squarrose-recurved beyond the erect, sheathing base when wet; narrowly to broadly oblong-lanceolate, distally broadly channeled to tubulose, base erect, broadly oblong-ovate, gradually tapering to the narrow 1-2-twisted limb; margins undulate, incurved to plane, in the distal region regularly to irregularly denticulate-serrulate, lamina 1-stratose throughout, bordered in the proximal 1/4-3/4 region with elongate, hyaline, thin-walled rhomboidal cells in a band 4-10 cells wide, widest in the basal region at the abaxial angle of base and limb, strongly narrowed proximally to the leaf insertion with cells becoming quadrate to short-rectangular, marginal band narrowing distally and disappearing into the limb, the border smooth throughout or distally the cells becoming irregularly serrulate at their distal ends, the serrulations extending into the distal region of chlorophyllose cells; apex gradually acuminate and short-aristate with smooth margins to broadly acute and mucronate; costa excurrent as a short, pointed awn or mucro, covered adaxially with quadrate, papillose cells, abaxially elongate and smooth; transverse section semicircular to reniform, adaxial epidermis present, adaxial stereid band present, robust, guide cells 4-6 in 1 layer, hydroid strand absent, basal cells (4-)6-7(-10):1, echlorophyllose and hyaline, walls as thick as distal cells, smooth, often porose juxtacostally, distal cells subquadrate, 7-12(-14) µm wide, chlorophyllose, evenly thickened, densely papillose, papillae dense, 2-fid, 1-4 per lumen, cells of basal margin forming a border of oblong or oblong-linear, large, inflated, thin-walled and hyaline cells. Specialized asexual reproduction none. Sexual condition dioicous; perichaetia and perigonia lateral, at the apex of small branches; perichaetial leaves similar to the cauline, somewhat narrower. [Seta to 1.7 cm. Capsule stegocarpous, theca erect, cylindric; annulus persistent; operculum bluntly high-conic or conic-rostrate; peristome divided to the base into 32 brownish orange, branched-spiculose, filiform divisions, loosely twisted counterclockwise in 1 turn. Calyptra cucullate. Spores spherical, moderately papillose, 10-13 µm.] KOH reaction pale lemon-yellow.
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