Stems 15 cm or longer × 1--7 mm. Leaves 2--5 × 1--2 mm; median cells 96--175 × 7--11 µm. Capsule 1.5--4 × 0.4--0.9 mm; operculum 0.8--1.2 mm. Spores 11--14 µm.

Logs, stumps and bases of trees in coniferous woods, sometimes on boggy soil or soil and humus overlying rock; 0--1310 m; B.C.; s Alaska (extending out to Attu I.), n Calif., Idaho, Oreg., Wash.; n,w,c Europe; Asia (China); New Guinea.

This large, distinctive species is very common from southern Alaska to northern California and inland to Idaho. It is best recognized by its light- or whitish-green color, large stems, often up to 15 cm or more × 1--7 mm, its strongly undulate, ovate to ovate-lanceolate large leaves, 2--5 × 1--2 mm and its large, inclined to pendulous, arcuate, cylindrical, light- to orange-brown capsule, exserted on a 25--45 mm seta. Microscopically, the species is distinguished by leaf cells that are covered with granular, cuticular papillae, visible at 400× or more magnification.

This species was previously placed in the genus Plagiothecium in the Plagiotheciaceae, but the cells of all species in that genus have completely smooth leaf cells unlike the papillose cells of Buckiella, which I place in the Hypnaceae (R. R. Ireland 2001). One other species is included in the genus Buckiella, namely B. draytonii (Sullivant) Ireland, known only from the Hawaiian Islands.