Plants medium-sized to large, slender, 2–10 cm high, greenish yellow to brown below, usually rather shiny, in loose tufts. Stems erect, branched or unbranched, rhizoids at base; central strand absent. Leaves erect to erect-spreading or falcate-secund, evenly spaced in rows, lanceolate, broad at base, gradually subulate, 1.5–3.5 mm long; margins erect or slightly incurved, entire, sometimes slightly serrulate at the tip; costa single, slender, ca. 1/5 leaf width at base, filling most of subula from the middle of leaves, long-excurrent, smooth; upper cells subquadrate to irregularly rectangular, thick-walled, basal cells oblong to oblong-linear, incrassate, yellowish brown, alar cells well-differentiated, forming distinct group, inflated, brownish. Dioicous. Perichaetial leaves abruptly subulate from a broadly sheathing base. Setae 5–8 mm long, yellowish brown, straight when dry, flexuose-curved above when wet; capsules exserted, obovoid to shortly pyriform, short neck present, contracted below the mouth when dry; exothecial cells irregularly shaped; opercula obliquely rostrate from a conic base; annuli absent; peristome teeth lanceolate, entire or more or less split at the tip, smooth, yellowish brown. Spores not seen.

Type. In montonsis Angliae & Norwegiae.

Selected Chinese specimens examined: GUIZHOU: Suiyang Co., C. Gao & J.-Y. Feng 33569 (IFSBH). HEBEI: Xing Long Co., J.-X. Ji 968 (IFSBH). HUBEI: Shennongjia (Mt.), G.-C. Zhang & E.-Z. Bai 34617 (IFSBH). JILIN: Jiaohe Co., C. Gao 1639 (IFSBH). LIAONING: Benxi Co., C. Gao & G.-C. Zhang 83400 (IFSBH). SHAANXI: Hua Shan (Mt.), C. Gao 16869 (IFSBH). SICHUAN: Ya An Co., Q. Li 848 (IFSBH).

Habitat: on soil over rocks or in crevices of cliffs; Distribution: China, Nepal, Japan, Russian Far East, Europe, North and Central America, and Africa.

Blindia acuta is similar to certain species of Ditrichum and Campylopus in some ways, but the presence of smooth, essentially entire peristome segments, a slender, narrow costa, a shorter seta, and obovoid capsules are significant differences.

Illustrations: C. Gao (ed.) 1994 (Pl. 44, figs. 7–11).