Tayloria serrata subsp. acuminata (Hornschuch) J. J. Amann; T. splachnoides subsp. acuminata (Hornschuch) Kindberg; T. splachnoides var. acuminata (Hornschuch) Huebener

Plants 0.5-1 cm, in loose tufts, bright green. Stems sometimes branched. Leaves crowded at stem and branch apices, slightly crisped, erect and moderately contorted when dry, ovate-lanceolate, 3 × 0.7-1 mm; margins recurved and entire proximally, irregularly serrate distally; apex long-acuminate; costa ending 5-9 cells before apex. Specialized asexual reproduction by brood bodies on radicles. Sexual condition autoicous. Seta yellow, red with age, 0.6-1.5 cm, slightly twisted when dry, slender. Capsule cylindric, urn 0.5-1.5 mm when dry, 0.8-2 mm when moist; hypophysis same color as urn or somewhat more pale, 3 mm; columella not or barely exserted when dry; operculum deciduous, short-conic, apex blunt, often slightly oblique; peristome inserted below mouth; exostome teeth 16, split into 32 linear-lanceolate filaments, reflexed inrolled when dry, red-brown, narrowly lanceolate. Spores 15-18 µm, finely papillose.

Capsules mature summer. Damp places, humus, rotten logs, rock; low to high elevations; Alta., B.C., Man., N.W.T., Nunavut, Ont., Que., Yukon; Alaska, Idaho, Mont., Nev., Wash., Wyo.; n, c Europe; n, c Asia.

Tayloria acuminata has more slender gametophytes and sporophytes than T. splachnoides, which bears a close resemblance. The leaves of T. acuminata are also more pointed, the columella is not or barely exserted upon drying of the capsule, and the operculum is short-conic and only 0.5-0.6 mm high. The exostome of T. acuminata is tightly rolled inside the urn and usually hidden when moist, loosely rolled and more or less reflexed when dry; the brood bodies are small, clavate, of 2-4 cells, and papillose.