Plants soft, slender, sometimes fairly robust, variable in color, usually pale yellowish green, tinged with pinkish, reddish or purple, in loose or compact tufts. Stem cortex in 3–4 layers, hyaline cells without fibrils, usually with large pores; central cylinder pale yellowish, tinged with reddish. Stem leaves 0.9–1.4 mm × 0.6–0.7 mm, triangular-ligulate or oblong-ligulate, rounded, dentate or lacerate, sometimes cucullate at the apex; borders narrow above, clearly widened below; hyaline cells 1 to multi-divided, without fibrils or rarely with the traces of fibrils in the upper cells. Branches in fascicles of 5–6, with 2–3 spreading. Branch leaves 0.9–1.3 mm × 0.4–0.5 mm, oblong-ovate or ovate-lanceolate, usually secund from the middle, rounded and dentate at the apex; margins involute above; hyaline cells with small pores at the corners in the upper cells, large, rounded, ringed pores in the lower cells on the ventral surface, with small pores in the upper cells, half-rounded pores at the opposite ends on the dorsal surface; green cells in cross section narrowly triangular or trapezoidal, exposed more broadly on the ventral surface, enclosed by hyaline cells on the dorsal surface, or sometimes exposed on both surfaces. Dioicous or monoicous; antheridial branches purple reddish. Perigonial leaves large, broadly ovate, slightly concave with apiculate apices. Sporophytes not seen.

Type. Europe.

Chinese specimens examined: NEI MONGOL: Da Xing An Ling (Greater Khingan Mt.), P.-C. Chen et al. 141 (KUN, MO), P.-C. Chen & C. Gao 1062 (IFSBH, MO). XINJIANG: Bur-qin Co., B. C. Tan 93-923 (FH, MO).

Habitat: on hummocks at the top; Distribution: China, India, Japan, Russia (Siberia), Europe, Greenland, and North America.

Illustrations: C. Gao (ed.) 1994 (Pl. 19, figs. 7–11).