Family: Bryaceae

Diagnosis: Plants erect, usually tufted, green, yellowish, reddish or hyaline; stems simple or forked, sometimes densely radiculose. Leaves Pelliptic to ovate or ovate-lanceolate, linear lanceolate, lanceolate, to oblong-lanceolate, or setaceous, dimorphic and complanate or terete foliate, usually gradually increasing in size upward, often rosulate; apices usually acute, sometimes awned or piliferous; costa single, subpercurrent, percurrent or excurrent; margins bordered or unbordered, toothed or entire; upper leaf cells rhombic to linear or vermicular, basal cells rhombic, rectangular or quadrate. Setae terminal, elongate; capsules erect, suberect, inclined, horizontal or pendent, symmetric or asymmetric, cylindric, sub-cylindric, clavate, pyriform, oval or spherical, neck commonly differentiated; operculum convex to short-conic, rarely rostrate; annulus usually well-developed and revoluble; peristome diplolepidous, usually complete, exostome of 16 triangular teeth, endostome with a basal membrane usually well-developed, segments usually broad and perforate, at times the exostome and/or endostome reduced or lacking. Calyptra cucullate, smooth. Spores spherical.

Distribution: cosmopolitan