Polytrichum piliferum Hedw.

Plants small to medium, glaucous green to reddish brown, in loose tufts. Stems (0.5-)1-4 cm tall, rather wiry, unbranched, comose at the tips, whitish tomentose only near the base. Leaves (2-)3-4 mm, erect, straight and slightly in-curved when dry, erect-spreading when moist; sheath ovate, ± con-tracted to the blade; blade linear-lanceolate, turgid, with sharply infolded margins, the leaf apex abruptly contracted to the base of the awn; marginal lamina 5-8 cells wide, 1-stratose, membranous, entire to finely serrulate toward the apex, enclosing the lamellae and overlapping in distal half or more; costa typically smooth abaxially, long-excurrent as a spinulose-toothed, hyaline awn; lamellae in profile crenulate-dentate to serrulate, with crenulations directed towards the leaf apex, (4-)6-8 cells high, the marginal cells in section conic to distinctly pyriform, terminating in a distinct knob, the marginal cells of the lateral lamellae ovoid, thinner-walled; sheath cells 60-80 × 10-15 µm, elongate-rectangular (4-6:1); cells of marginal lamina transversely elongated, ± irregular and sinuous, smaller toward the margins and obliquely oriented, especially approaching the apex, thick-walled. Sexual condition dioicous; perigonia intense wine-red; perichaetial leaves a little longer than foliage leaves, with hyaline lamina and longer awns. Seta 1-3 cm, stout, flexuose, reddish brown. Capsule 2.5-3.5 mm, short to almost cubic (1.5-2:1), inclined, becoming horizontal when mature; peristome rather short, 110-180(-200) µm, divided to 0.6, the teeth about 64, obtuse. Calyptra dirty white to light brown, enclosing the capsule. Spores 9-12 µm.