Plants small to medium-sized, in tufts or loose cushions. Stems erect or rarely creeping, branches erect to ascending. Leaves straight and not crisped to flexuose and crisped when dry, erect-spreading to spreading-flexuose when moist, lanceolate, oblong-lanceolate, or linear-lanceolate, not rugose; margins entire; apex acuminate, acute, or narrowly obtuse; costa ending near apex or rarely excurrent; basal laminal cells rounded-quadrate to elongate-rectangular or linear; distal cells hexagonal-rounded to elliptic, 6-14 µm, sometimes smooth, usually papillose only over lumina, papillae 1 (or 2) per cell, conic, 2-fid, or clavate; marginal cells abruptly shorter than basal. Sexual condition autoicous or rarely dioicous; perichaetial leaves larger than stem leaves. Seta 1-10 mm. Capsule fully exserted, fusiform-cylindric, ovate-oblong, or rarely obovate, slightly 8-plicate at mouth to strongly 8-ribbed entire length or rarely smooth, mouth puckered or capsule ± constricted below mouth; stomata superficial; peristome double or single; exostome teeth 8, sometimes split to 16, finely and densely papillose to papillose-striate or rarely smooth; endostome segments 8 or absent. Calyptra mitrate, short-to oblong-conic, base usually deeply split several times, smooth, hairy, not plicate, covering 1/2 capsule. Spores isosporous.