Plants acrocarpous. Stems erect, central strand present or absent. Leaves erect or distally curved, rarely crisped, broadly oblong ovate, ovate-lanceolate, or narrowly lanceolate; margins plane, incurved or recurved, entire to occasionally denticulate distally, costa entire distally, percurrent to excurrent, smooth, in transverse section semi-terete, occasionally terete, elliptical or reniform, with 2 or occasionally with 3–6 adaxial cells near base, usually not markedly larger than abaxial cells, often excurrent as a long awn, awn smooth to toothed but not papillose; laminal cells smooth, mammillose, or papillose; basal cells quadrate to elongate, straight to sometimes sinuous, rarely sinuose-nodulose, thin- to thick-walled, without spiral thickenings, hyaline along insertion or concolorous with more distal basal cells; mid leaf cells mainly quadrate, to short rectangular, often sinuose but not sinuose-nodulose. Specialized asexual reproduction absent or occasionally present as gemmae borne in axils of distal leaves or on leaf tips. Sexual condition autoicous or dioicous. Seta short to long, straight, arcuate, or sigmoid, smooth, one per perichaetium; vaginula with straight epidermal cells. Capsule usually erect, rarely pendent, immersed to long-exserted, symmetric to ventricose, ovoid, obloid or cylindrical, sometimes globose, smooth or distinctly striate; stomata present or absent; annulus persistent or deciduous; operculum mammillate to long-rostrate; peristome absent basal membrane, distinctly thicker and trabeculate on the abaxial side, entire or split distally. Calyptra cucullate, mitrate, or mitrate-campanulate, smooth or plicate, not papillose, covering operculum to entire capsule.