Mnium punctatum Hedwig, Sp. Musc. Frond., 193. 1801; Rhizomnium punctatum subsp. chlorophyllosum (Kindberg) T. J. Koponen

Plants 1-3(-5) cm. Stems dark red or reddish brown when old; micronemata absent. Leaves green to light green, contorted when dry, broadly obovate or elliptic, (2-)3-5(-7) mm; margins pale green or reddish, 2-4-stratose; apex rounded or sometimes obtuse or truncate, short-mucronate or apiculate; costa percurrent or occasionally subpercurrent; medial laminal cells short-elongate or elongate, (50-)65-100(-120) µm, collenchymatous or not, walls pitted; marginal cells linear or short-linear, in 3 or 4 rows. Specialized asexual reproduction by green protonematous rhizoids. Sexual condition dioicous. Seta 1.5-3.5 cm. Capsule oblong-cylindric, 2-3.5 mm; operculum conic-rostrate; exostome greenish yellow, lamellae 18+. Spores 29-41 µm.

Capsules mature spring. Forests, stream banks on logs, moist soil, humus, rock, on shaded cliffs; low to moderate elevations; Greenland; Alta., B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr., N.S., Ont., P.E.I., Que., Sask.; Ala., Alaska, Ark., Calif., Ga., Idaho, Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Miss., N.H., N.J., N.Mex., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Okla., Pa., Tex., Wash., W.Va., Wis., Wyo.; Europe; Asia; Africa.

Rhizomnium punctatum is distinguished by the lack of micronemata, percurrent costa, presence of an apiculus, and thick margins.