Family: Meteoriaceae

Diagnosis: Plants slender to robust, in dull or less often lustrous, soft to stiff, green to golden, frequently black-tinged, typically pendent colonies, usually epiphytic but sometimes on rocks, soil or humus. Stems elongate, at least initially creeping along substrate, but then becoming ascendent to pendent, primary and secondary stems not differentiated. Stem and branch leaves mostly not differentiated except in size, appressed to spreading, lanceolate to ovate, mostly acuminate, sometimes hairpointed, often concave, sometimes plicate, often with a ± clasping base and either cordate or ± auriculate; margins mostly serrulate almost throughout, plane to incurved or recurved; costa single or less often short and double or absent; cells short to linear, smooth ot more often papillose on both surfaces, either with a single papilla over the lumina or pluripapillose over the lumina or the walls or both, sometimes seriately arranged; alar cells scarcely differentiated or differentiated in small areas, rarely numerous. Setae short to elongate; capsules immersed to long-exerted, erect to almost so, globose to cylindric; annulus mostly differentiated; operculum typically obliquely conic-rostrate; peristome double, often inserted somewhat below the mouth. Calyptra mitrate or cucullate, naked or hairy, smooth or roughened. Spores spherical, variously papillose.