Plants terrestrial, less often on rock, forming close clumps. Stems radially symmetric, underground (rhizomatous) and aerial, not readily fragmenting, irregularly forked; rhizomatous and aerial stems often with 1 branch arrested, budlike, tips straight; rhizomatous stems with budlike branches, these sometimes inconspicuous; aerial stems erect or ascending, lateral branches conspicuously determinate. Rhizophores borne on upperside of stems, restricted to rhizomatous stems or lowermost base of aerial stems (seldom on distal 2/3, if so, short), mostly aerial, 0.25--0.43 mm diam. Leaves monomorphic, in pseudowhorls of 4 or 5, tightly appressed, ascending, green, narrowly triangular-lanceolate or narrowly lanceolate, 2--3.25 X 0.4--0.6(--0.7) mm; abaxial ridges present; base rounded to cuneate, slightly decurrent to adnate, pubescent; margins ciliate, cilia transparent, spreading at base, dentiform, ascending toward apex, 0.02--0.1 mm; apex plane, attenuate or seldom slightly keeled; bristle white or whitish to transparent, sometimes with brownish to reddish band at base marking breaking point (in old leaves), straight, puberulent, (0.35--)0.5--1.4 mm. Strobili solitary, (0.5--)1--3(--3.5) cm; sporophylls ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, abaxial ridges not prominent, base pubescent, margins ciliate, apex bristled.
