Plants with shoots 10 30 × 1.5 2.4 mm, prostrate, forming mats, light green to reddish brown. Stems creeping or ascending when crowded, 360 300 mm in diameter, branches few, terminal or innovating below perianths; rhizoids abundant, scattered along ventral stem, often with fascicles from leaf and underleaf bases, colorless or slightly brownish. Leaves contiguous to imbricate, slightly concave, erect to spreading, cuticle smooth, walls thin, trigones developed, sometimes bulging. Underleaves spreading, distinct, subulate to lanceolate, some narrowly connate on one side with lateral leaves, apices acute to acuminate. Sexual condition dioicous. Androecia intercalary, bracts in 3 5 pairs, concave, imbricate, similar to leaves. Gynoecia terminal on fleshy apex of main stem; bracts similar to and larger than leaves, 0.9 1 × 1.2 1.3 mm, ovate to reniform, concave, sometimes undulate or emarginate, connivent over perianth; bracteole subulate to lanceolate, larger than underleaves, narrowly connate to bracts; perianth short, ca. 300 µm, conical, hidden within the bracts, contracted to a crenulate mouth; perigynium fleshy, longer than perianth, 400 600 mm, the base often tinged with red, bearing rhizoids. Sporophyte capsule subglobose, dark brown; elaters brown, 2 spiral. Spores 16 18 µm, finely papillate, yellowish brown.

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

Lower Taxa

• Nardia scalaris subsp. botryoidea R. M. Schuster
• Nardia scalaris subsp. scalaris (Schrader) S.F. Gray