Plants small, appearing hispid, gregarious or in low dense sods. Stems very short, forked; rhizoids glossy dark-red. Leaves mostly tightly curled-contorted, involute when dry, often secund, involute, ascending when wet, sometimes cucullate at tips, oblong-linear above slightly broader base, 1.5–3.0 mm long, axillary hairs obscure; costa usually spinose abaxially and adaxially, sometimes remarkably so; cells of upper laminae isodiametric to short-rectangular, unipapillose abaxially and adaxially, papillae often tall and conspicuous; margins somewhat involute distally, bordered all around with hyaline cells, border sometimes weak and incomplete in distal part of leaf, bearing delicate hyaline cilia at shoulders, cilia sometimes weak and reduced to teeth; cancellinae narrow, acute or narrowly rounded distally. Gemmae frequent, on adaxial surface of costa at leaf tip. Sporophytes not seen.

Syntypes. Africa: Bagroo River, Mann s.n. (BR, NY); Nunn, Mann s.n. (NY).

Chinese specimens examined: GUANGDONG: Guang-zhou City, P.-J. Lin 1489 (IBSC, LAF); Shi-xing Co., P.-J. Lin et al. 4767 (IBSC, LAF); Zhao-qing Co., H. Wu B74 (IBSC, LAF). HAINAN: Chang-jiang Co., Reese et al. 17530 (IBSC, LAF, MO); Ling-shui Co., Reese et al. 17853 (IBSC, LAF, MO); Wen-chang Co., 30 Mar 1990, Redfearn 36250 (IBSC, LAF, MO). HONG KONG: Victoria Peak, Iwatsuki 25 (HIRO, IBSC, LAF, NICH); Mt. Da Mo, P.-J. Lin et al. 501 (IBSC); Da Po Kau, P.-J. Lin et al. 1110 (IBSC). SICHUAN: Mt. Omei, P.-J. Lin 3245 (IBSC, LAF). TAIWAN: Nan-tou Co., C.-C. Chuang & Schofield 243 (UBC); Tai-pei Co., T.-Y. Chiang 27606 (MO). YUNNAN: Meng-hai Co., Redfearn et al. 34146 (LAF, MO); He-kou Co., W.-X. Xu 18b (IBSC, KUN, LAF).

Habitat: fairly common and often abundant on tree trunks (especially palms), old palm leaf bases, stumps, rock, in open forest sites at moderate elevations; Distribution: very widespread in the Palaeotropics; tropical Africa through Malaysia, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, and Hawaii.

Syrrhopodon armatus is a common and distinctive species. The combination of small stature, leaves curled when dry, unipapillose cells, and ciliate shoulders is not found in any other species of Chinese Syrrhopodon. A similar species, S. trachyphyllus Mont., is easily distinguished from S. armatus because it has pluripapillose leaf cells and generally only weakly toothed shoulders. Syrrhopodon armatus has previously been known in China under its synonyms S. fimbriatulus C. Müll., S. larminatii Par. & Broth., and S. tsushimae Card.

Illustrations: Reese & P.-J. Lin 1991 (figs. 89–94).