Plants medium-sized to slender, prostrate, ascending or erect, 4--10 cm, pale green; branches emerging in horizontal plane, 0.4--0.7 cm, occasionally longer. Stems yellowish green to pale brown, central strand weakly developed, epidermal cells not differentiated; densely to sparsely pinnately branched; pseudoparaphyllia filamentous to lanceolate, occasionally forked, terminated by 1-seriate tip of several elongate cells. Leaves loosely imbricate, straight to falcate-secund, ovate or oblong-lanceolate, gradually narrowed to short acumen, 1.7--2.2(--2.5) × 0.6--0.8(--0.9) mm; margins usually markedly serrulate distally, plane or recurved near base; costa short or indistinct, double; median cells (60--)70--90(--100) × ca. 3 µm; basal cells shorter and broader and thicker walled, often porose, light yellow or colorless; alar region usually strongly excavate, sometimes brown, distal cells subquadrate and 3--5(--7) along margin, the proximal cells somewhat enlarged and somewhat decurrent at extreme marginal cell. Sexual condition dioicous; inner perichaetial leaves erect, oblong-lanceolate, suddenly narrowed into a distinctly serrulate acumen, not plicate, costa indistinct. Sporophyte unknown in North American material and rare in Europe. [Seta yellowish to reddish, 2.5--4 cm. Capsule reddish brown, inclined to horizontal, oblong-cylindric, slightly curved, 1.5--2 mm excluding rostrate operculum; annulus 2-seriate; cilia of endostome usually single, sometimes rudimentary.]

Capsules (in Europe) mature winter--spring. Terrestrial; 0--500 m; Nfld., N.S.; Alaska (?); Europe; Africa (Azores).

Hypnum jutlandicum is largely an amphi-Atlantic species. The pale yellowish green, glossy, pinnate plants are very distinctive and might be confused with H. imponens, but H. jutlandicum has yellow rather than red-brown stems, and the leaves tend to be golden yellow rather than pale yellow; and the pseudoparaphyllia of H. imponens are more broadly foliose than the nearly filiform ones of H. jutlandicum. Distinction from H. cupressiforme is less apparent, but the usually more complanate pale green plants of H. jutlandicum are sufficient to separate it.