Plants: dark green in deeply shaded sites, orange-golden to rusty in exposed sites. Stems: 3–10 cm, usually hooked at apices, branches 0.3–1.5 cm, arising at right angles, hooked at apices or attenuate; rhizoids usually absent. Leaves: tapering to apex, 2–3 mm. Seta: 2–3 cm. Capsule: red-brown, 1.5–2 mm; operculum apiculate. Spores: 12–16 µm. Phenology: Capsules mature fall.
Coniferous forest floors, tundra, peatlands, deciduous forests, especially in boreal regions. low to high elevations (0-2000 m). Greenland, Alta., B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr., N.W.T., N.S., Ont., P.E.I., Que., Sask., Yukon, Alaska, Colo., Conn., Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Mont., Nebr., N.H., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Pa., S.Dak., Tenn., Vt., Va., Wash., W.Va., Wis., Wyo., Europe, Asia. Discussion.