Stereophyllaceae

Diagnosis: Plants medium-sized, in lustrous, yellow-green, mostly dense, ± flat, often extensive mats. Stems creeping, irregularly branched, complanate-foliate. Stem and branch leaves similar but lateral and dorsal leaves differentiated, crowded, ± stiff, wide-spreading, somewhat curled when dry, curled downward when moist, complanate, dorsal leaves oblong-ovate, symmetric, lateral leaves oblong-lanceolate, cultriform, obtuse to short-acute, flat or concave, not plicate, not decurrent; margins entire to serrulate above, entire below, plane; costa single in lateral leaves, weak, rarely extending 1/3 the leaf length, absent in dorsal leaves; cells linear, smooth, thin- to firm-walled, porose or not, heavily chlorophyllose; alar cells differentiated in lateral leaves, numerous, large, oblong, colored, porose, extending across adaxial surface of costa, dorsal leaves with few undifferentiated cells, small, quadrate to subquadrate. Setae elongate, orange-red, straight; capsules cernuous, symmetric, not arcuate, short-cylindric, not plicate, constricted below the mouth when dry; annulus not differentiated; operculum short-rostrate; exostome teeth cross striolate below, papillose above. Spores spherical.