Stems 6--11 mm, central strand small, cells very thin-walled. Leaves broadly oblong to lingulate, 1.5--3 mm; apex muticous, obtuse to rounded; margins plane; costa ending below apex; laminal cells 10--16 µm; basal cells 30--50 µm, smooth; basal marginal cells differentiated below, in 3--5 rows, longer than laminal cells. Specialized asexual reproduction absent. Seta 3--5 mm, reddish brown. Capsule short-cylindric, 1.5--3 mm, striate to weakly ribbed, yellowish brown; exothecial cells long-rectangular to linear; peristome absent; operculum 0.5-0.7 mm long. Calyptra 2.5--4 mm, lacerate at base, papillose on rostrum. Spores 35--40 µm, with vermiculate ridges, brown.

Calcareous soil over rock, deciduous woodlands; w Tex.; West Indies (Haiti); Central America (Guatemala).

Encalypta flowersiana is recognized by its small size, narrow leaves, subpercurrent costa and distinctly ridged spores. The species is similar to E. mutica and E. texana in the absence of a peristome and leaf awn. The most useful difference is spore ornamentation---see the discussion of those species. Currently, E. flowersiana is only known in the flora area from the Chisos Mountains of west Texas, but its small size and the rugged terrain of its habitat may mask a broader distribution in the mountains of the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico.