Racopilum capense Müll.Hal. ex Broth.

Plants small to large, forming mats, dark green; terricolous, humicolous, saxicolous or corticolous. Stems creeping, up to 60 mm long, branching regular, pinnate; in section oval, central strand small, inner cortical cells thin-walled, hyaline, in 5 or 6 rows, outer cortical cells thick-walled, red-brown, in 2 or 3 rows; paraphyllia and pseudoparaphyllia absent. Leaves evenly spaced, 4-ranked, wide-spreading wet, incurved dry; lateral leaves broadly ovate to elliptical, 1-2 mm long; acute, cuspidate or short-awned; rounded at base; margins plane, entire below, serrate above; dorsal leaves ovate, 0.8-1.5 mm long; acute, cuspidate or short-awned; rounded at base; margins plane, weakly serrate. Costa single, short-excurrent, smooth, yellow, both surfaces smooth; in section bulging dorsally, guide cells thin-walled, ventral stereid band absent, ventral surface cells large, thick-walled, dorsal stereid band 2 cells thick, dorsal surface cells small, thick-walled. Upper laminal cells hexagonal to rhomboidal, becoming rectangular at margins in lateral leaves, rhombic to quadrate in dorsal leaves, 7-12 µm long, walls weakly thickened, ± homogeneous, minutely mammillose on both surfaces; basal cells quadrate to short-rectangular, 12-24 µm long, 12 µm wide, hyaline, walls smooth, weakly thickened; alar cells not differentiated. Dioicous. Perigonia axillary on stem, gemmate; perigonial leaves orbicular-acuminate. Perichaetia strongly differentiated; perichaetial leaves oblong to ovate, apex long-cuspidate, 1-2 mm long with awn 1-2 mm long, leaf cells fusiform, thin-walled and pitted. Seta 15-22 mm long, red-brown, smooth. Capsule exserted, horizontal to nodding, cylindrical to weakly pyriform, 2.5-3.0 mm long, ribbed, red-yellow, urn cylindrical, neck not differentiated; exothecial cells rectangular, walls firm, cells at mouth quadrate; annulus differentiated; stomata phaneropore on lower urn. Peristome complete, orange; exostome teeth linear from a broader base, erect with inflexed tips dry, incurved wet; striate below with median zigzag line, papillose above, up to 700 µm high; endostome segments keeled and perforated, as long as teeth, on high basal membrane, granulate; cilia 3, linear, as long as segments, granulate. Operculum conical and long-rostrate, 1.5 mm long. Calyptra not seen. Spores rounded, 12-16 µm, granulate, green.