Plants forming dark or grayish to yellowish green, yellowish to blackish brown tufts or patches, usually hoary when dry. Stems to 15 cm or more, radiculose at the base or not. Leaves crowded, erect-appressed when dry, erectopatent when wet, straight to falcate-secund, linear-lanceolate, 3-5 × 0.6-0.9 mm; margins recurved to revolute for 1/2-2/3 the leaf length, entire proximally the echlorophyllose part formed by decurrencies from the awn; apices gradually tapering to a long and slender awn, not decurrent, canaliculate distally, concave to broadly carinate proximally, awn hyaline, densely papillose, broadly and evenly decurrent to 1/4-1/3 along the margins, with decurrencies consistently flat, erosodentate to nearly entire and short, to 30 µm, sharp or blunt teeth, distinctly papillose throughout, spreading at a 40-90º angle; costa in tranverse-section rectangular to reniform in outline, strongly convex abaxially, 75-100 µm wide basally; basal laminal cells long-rectangular, 40-90 × 7-8 µm, strongly nodulose, forming a broad orange strip along the insertion; medial cells becoming long-rectangular to linear, 50-60 × 6-8 µm wide; distal laminal cells short-rectangular, (10-)15-40 × 7-9 µm. Seta 1-3 per perichaetium, brown to reddish brown, 3-7(-10) mm, erect, flexuose. Capsule brown, 1-1.7 mm, smooth, glistening; peristome teeth (300-)500-700(-900) µm, reddish brown, arising from a low basal membrane, 2-fid almost to the base into filiform, terete, densely spiculate-papillose divisions. Spores 8-12 µm.
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Plants large, in loose mats, yellow to yellow-green, hoary; saxicolous. Stems erect to inclined, 40-80 mm long, with numerous short branches throughout; in section round, central strand absent, inner cortical cells in 6 rows, medium-sized, smaller toward margin, outer cortical cells in 1-2 rows stereids, reddish. Leaves appressed with contorted acumens dry, spreading wet; lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, 3.0-3.5 mm long; apex acuminate, hyaline, toothed and papillose, hyaline region decurrent down margins; base undifferentiated; margins plane to recurved, toothed above, crenulate below. Costa strong, ending in apex; in section reniform, guide cells 6, large, strongly thickened, exposed ventrally, dorsal cells smaller, substereids. Laminal cells rectangular, strongly incrassate, nodose-sinuate; basal cells larger, rectangular; basal marginal cells smooth-walled, in single row, to 20 cells high. Sporophyte not known from Southern Africa.
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