Plants 1--5 cm; not or rarely branched. Stem leaves spreading to recurved or squarrose, ovate-orbicular, 1--2 X 0.75--1.5 mm, apex acute; costa variable, from short and double to long and single to above mid-leaf; medial laminal cells sinuose, 33--60 X 2.5 µm, smooth; alar cells little differentiated, 4-8 small quadrate cells.

Sporophytes not known from flora region. Humid hardwood forests and hammocks, tree trunks, especially Magnolia grandiflora; 0-800 m; Fla., La.; Mexico; West Indies; Central America; n South America, tropical Africa.

The extreme variability of the costa in J. scariosa has resulted in a surplus of names for this species. Individual plants may have leaves with a weak or moderately strong single costa reaching to mid-leaf or above, sometimes forked above, or a short double costa, or a mere trace at the leaf base. The plant is readily recognized in the field, however, where it forms small tufts of erect stems on tree trunks. The leaves are glossy yellow and always broadly spreading to squarrose, giving the plants a distinctive appearance. Leucodon julaceus and species of Cryphaea occupy the same habitat, but are smaller and have the leaves appressed when dry, amongst other differences. Neither gametangia nor sporophytes are known for J. scariosa in the flora area.