Flora of North America species comparison

(1–)3–10(–12) cm, sparingly or profusely irregularly branched or often regularly pinnately branched with short, tuft-like branchlets.

straight to distinctly falcate, imbricate when dry, patent to recurved when moist, ovate to broadly ovate-lanceolate, (1.5–)2–2.8(–3.3) × 0.8–1.3 mm;

margins broadly recurved to revolute throughout;

apices rather abruptly narrowed, hyaline or not, sometimes muticous, usually awned, awns broad and stout to subulate, not reflexed, not or distinctly decurrent, mostly serrulate and spinulose, papillose distally and strongly so basally;

costa weak, extending 1/2–3/4 way up the leaf, flattened and weakly convex abaxially, 90–120 µm wide near the base;

basal cells rectangular, 30–50 × 4–7 µm strongly papillose with large papillae, often epapillose in 1–3 rows at the insertion;

alar cells usually rounded and inflated in 3–5 rows, thin-walled, hyaline to yellowish hyaline, forming prominent, decurrent, somewhat inflated auricles;

supra-alar cells elongate, thin- and straight-walled, producing a pellucid marginal border of 20–30 cells;

medial and distal laminal cells rectangular, 10–30 × 5–10 µm, strongly papillose.

dark red to reddish brown, 5–25 mm.

brown, narrowly ellipsoid to cylindric, 1.5–2.5 mm, smooth to somewhat furrowed when dry;

peristome teeth 600–800 µm, reddish brown, densely papillose.

8–11 µm.

perichaetial leaves membranous, hyaline, acute, usually with hyaline awns.