Anisothecium varium (Hedw.) Mitt., J. Linn. Soc. Bot. 12: 40. 1869. Anisothecium rubrum Lindb., Musc. Scand. 26. 1879, nom. illeg. incl. spec. prior.

Plants minute to small, 3–10 mm high, dirty green to reddish brown, gregarious or in loose tufts. Stems erect, simple or sparsely branched. Leaves appressed when dry, erect-patent to flexuose or falcate-secund when moist, lower ones smaller and distant, upper ones larger and more crowded, lanceolate, 1–2 mm long, gradually narrowed from an oblong, nonsheathing base to a subulate and semi-canaliculate acumen, blunt to narrowly obtuse at the apex; margins irregularly recurved nearly throughout, entire or crenulate near the apex; costa stout, percurrent, filling nearly half of the subula, smooth at back; upper cells rhomboidal to long-rectangular, 45–65 µm × 6–8 µm, thin-walled, lower cells becoming longer and broader. Dioicous. Perichaetial leaves similar to the upper stem leaves. Setae somewhat flexuose, 4–7 mm long, purple; capsules suberect to inclined or horizontal, ovoid to short-cylindric, 0.7–1.0 mm × 0.4–0.5 mm, with a distinct neck, curved, reddish brown, scarcely plicate when dry; stomata present; opercula stoutly short-rostrate; annuli absent; peristome teeth lanceolate, divided in the upper 1/3, hyaline and papillose above, orange-brown and vertically papillose-striolate below. Spores 12–16 µm in diameter, finely papillose.

Syntypes. England, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy.

Chinese specimens examined: GUANGDONG: Chao-yang Co., X.-X. Huang & Z.-X. Li 15 (IBSC). GUANGXI: Shang-si Co., C. Gao 2120, 2123 (IFSBH, MO). GUIZHOU: Sui-yang Co., C. Gao & J.-Y. Feng 32779(b) (IFSBH). JIANGXI: Lu Shan (Mt.), L.-J. Bi 33035 (IFSBH, MO). LIAONING: Ben-xi Co., C. Gao 13402 (IFSBH, MO); Shenyang City, C. Gao 830, 838 (IFSBH, MO). SHANGHAI: Qingpu, Y.-F. Wang 305 (HSNU, IFSBH). SICHUAN: Tian-quan Co., C. Gao 21144 (IFSBH), C. Gao 18500 (MO); Ya-an Co., C. Gao 17399 (IFSBH, MO). YUNNAN: Kunming City, T. Cao & Z.-W. Ao 21263 (IFSBH); Li-jiang Pref., Handel-Mazzetti 6779 (H). ZHEJIANG: Hangzhou City, D.-K. Li 131 (IFSBH, SHM).

Habitat: often on calcareous wet soil near streams or roadsides, sometimes on rocks; Distribution: China, Japan, Russia, Europe, and North America.

Illustrations: C. Gao (ed.) 1994 (Pl. 57, figs. 1–11).