Orthotrichum psilothecium Macoun & Kindberg; O. speciosum subsp. elegans (Schwagrichen ex Hooker & Greville) Lindberg; O. speciosum var. elegans (Schwagrichen ex Hooker & Greville) Warnstorf; O. speciosum var. roellii Venturi

Plants 0.5-2.2 cm. Stem leaves stiffly flexuose when dry, lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, 2.3-3 mm; margins strongly revolute nearly to apex, entire; apex broadly acuminate to acute; basal 8-10 µm, 1-stratose, papillae 1 or 2 per cell, conic, small. Specialized asexual reproduction absent. Sexual condition autoicous. Seta 1-2 mm. Capsule emergent to sometimes short-exserted, narrowly to fusiform-cylindric, 1.3-2 mm, smooth; stomata superficial; peristome double; prostome absent; exostome teeth 8, , recurved, , coarsely papillose; endostome segments 8, well developed, , of 2 rows of cells, , coarsely papillose. Calyptra conic-oblong, smooth, sparsely hairy, hairs finely papillose. Spores 13-26 µm.

Deciduous trees, especially Populus, conifers; moderate elevations (200-1000 m); Alta., B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr., N.W.T., N.S., Ont., P.E.I., Que., Sask.; Alaska, Maine, Mass., Mich., Minn., Mo., N.H., N.J., N.Y., Ohio, Pa., R.I., Vt., Wis.; Europe; Asia.

The small plants of Orthotrichum elegans in rather compact tufts are quite different from the larger, loosely tufted plants of O. speciosum. Orthotrichum elegans also has fusiform-cylindric, totally smooth, and emergent to short-exserted capsules, while O. speciosum has long-cylindric, generally slightly 8-ribbed, fully exserted capsules.