Plants small, dull, brownish-green, caespitose. Stems short, rhizoids dark red, sometimes very conspicuous. Leaves curled when dry, folded-involute and often falcate when wet, linear- to oblong-acuminate above broader base, 2–3 mm long, axillary hairs inconspicuous; cells of upper laminae obscure, isodiametric to rectangular, densely pluripapillose abaxially and adaxially; margins of upper laminae bordered with hyaline cells, border ending proximal to leaf tip, often difficult to see due to involution of margins, entire distally, coarsely toothed-ciliate at shoulders with ascending to diverging or recurved teeth; cancellinae rounded distally. Gemmae inconspicuous, adaxial on tips of costa. Sporophytes rare. Setae red, 5 mm long; capsules ovoid-cylindric, 1 mm long, with several stomata at base; spores 14–15 µm, finely granular-papillose; peristome teeth linear-triangular, more or less imperfect, segmented, 70–85 µm tall, densely papillose-spinose on outer surface; opercula slenderly long-rostrate, 1 mm long. Calyptrae smooth, 2.2 mm long.

Type. China: Guangdong, Zhao-qing Co., Ding-hu Shan (Mt.), G.-L. Shi 11693 (holotype IBSC; isotype LAF).

Chinese specimens examined: GUANGDONG: Zhao-qing Co., Ding-hu Shan (Mt.), H. Wu B146 (IBSC), P.-J. Lin 45, 46, 55, 224 (IBSC, LAF, SYS), Redfearn et al. 34366 (IBSC, LAF, MO, PE).

Habitat: rare; on tree trunks and bases in forests at low to moderate elevations; Distribution: China and Malaysia (Selangor).

Plants of S. orientalis are generally very similar to those of S. gaudichaudii Mont. (Africa, Neotropics) but differ in the consistently toothed-ciliate leaf shoulders and smaller leaves (leaves mostly 3–4 mm long in S. gaudichaudii). The leaf shoulders of S. gaudichaudii are mostly entire but occasionally bear one to a few small teeth. Also, the peristome teeth of S. gaudichaudii are nearly smooth, in contrast to the densely papillose-spinose teeth of S. orientalis. These two species may be considered to be vicariads.

Illustrations: Pl. 98, figs. 1–10.