Plants medium-sized. Stems long, branches many. Leaves falcate to falcate-secund, 1-1.4 (-1.5) mm; apex abruptly acute to short-acuminate to acuminate; medial laminal cells elliptic, corners rounded, usually longer than wide, prorulae distinct.

Capsules mature Jun-Aug. Dry siliceous boulders, calcareous rock, mineral soil, along streams; moderate to high elevations (900-3300 m); Greenland; Alta., B.C., Nfld. and Labr., N.W.T.; Alaska, Calif., Colo., Idaho, Mich., Mont., Nev., N.H., Oreg., Utah, Wash.; Eurasia.