Plants small, prostrate, freely branching, usually in mats. Stems smooth; rhizoids smooth, in clusters contiguous to the leaf insertion on abaxial side; axillary hairs minute, 2–3 cells in length, basal cell small, apical cell enlarged, more or less clavate; paraphyllia none; pseudoparaphyllia minute, ovate, acute to short-acuminate; epidermal layer more or less bulging, outer cortical cells small, firm-walled, in 1–2 layers, inner cortical more or less uniform, enlarged, thin-walled, central strand lacking. Stem and branch leaves similar; leaves monomorphic and spirally arranged or dimorphic and arranged in two dorsal and two ventral rows, usually erect, imbricate-appressed when dry, spreading when moist, symmetric or asymmetric, lanceolate to ovate or elliptic; rounded, obtuse, or acute, acuminate to subulate; Costae none; margins elimbate, entire; leaf cells firm-walled, smooth or pluripapillose, upper cells hexagonal, oblate-hexagonal, or rhombic, lower cells oblate-oblong in several marginal rows, interior cells often elongate. Autoicous. Perigonia gemmiform, axillary; perichaetia terminal on short axillary branches, leaves erect, usually enlarged and sheathing. Setae short to nearly absent, usually straight. Capsules immersed to shortly exserted, erect and symmetric, oblong- or ovoid-cylindric, pale-yellow; exothecial cells thin-walled, oblong to oblong-hexagonal, stomata absent or present and superficial at base of capsules; annuli rudimentary to well-developed; opercula conic-apiculate to conic-rostellate; peristome none or single, reduced to 16 short, narrowly triangular teeth, or to a pale, papillose, irregular membrane. Spores large, finely papillose to smooth. Calyptrae small, mitrate, rarely cucullate, glabrous or papillose, more or less plicate, plicae often scabrous.