Plants creeping, medium-sized, yellowish green to brown, lustrous, usually prostrate, 5--8 cm or more, regularly to irregularly pinnate, to 2-pinnate, occasionally plumose on one side, branches 0.2--1(--1.5) cm, subjulaceous, sharply pointed. Leaves of stem oblong-lanceolate, straight to weakly falcate, sometimes homomallous, gradually narrowed to long and slender acumen, somewhat concave, margins subentire to weakly toothed, weakly recurved near base or plane throughout; alar cells subquadrate, often brownish, often in excavate group. Sporophytes unknown in area of flora.

Terrestrial, cliff shelves, horizontal rock surfaces, in both exposed and sheltered sites, predominantly calcareous substrata; 0--4000 m; B.C., Yukon; Alaska, Colo., N.Mex., N.Dak.; Europe (mainly high elevations); Asia; Pacific Islands (New Zealand).

This variety is frequent in the Alaskan Peninsula but uncommon (or unrecorded) elsewhere in North America. I have seen no sporophytes in North American material. The acutely attached branches, closely imbricate, straight leaves with sharp apices and frequently excavate colored alar cells make this a distinctive variety.