Plants (3-)10-40(-180) mm, in dense cushions to loose mats, olivaceous, green, brown, or black, often with yellow, orange, or red tones. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, occasionally ovate-triangular, less commonly lanceolate to linear-lanceolate or elliptical to ligulate, keeled or concave proximally, sharply keeled or nearly flat distally, margins recurved, rarely plane or incurved, distal lamina usually 1-stratose or 2-stratose in striae or patches, rarely 2-stratose, specialized laminal and marginal chlorophyllose structures absent, muticous to long-awned, sometimes ending in a fleshy, multistratose apiculus; basal cells rectangular, with straight or sinuose and thin to thick cell walls; mid leaf and distal cells quadrate, rectangular, or ovate, rarely sub-triangular, smooth or papillose, usually sinuose and thick-walled. Gemmae absent. Sexual condition autoicous, rarely dioicous; perichaetial leaves usually enlarged. Seta short, straight. Capsule erect, immersed, symmetric, cylindric or campanulate; annulus rudimentary or absent; operculum rostrate or rarely mamillate, usually falling attached to columella (except S. trichodon). Calyptra cucullate or mitrate, not erose, not fully covering operculum, smooth.
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