Stems to 2.5 cm. Leaves 2-4(-5) mm, linear-lanceolate, tapering to a fine point; distal leaf margins broadly recurved in the proximal half; distal lamina cells more or less scattered mammillose-papillose but smooth at leaf margins, distal and medial cells 10-14 µm. Perigonium sessile. Seta (0.6-)0.9-1.3 cm, straight wet or dry. Capsule curved, zygomorphic, strumose; annulus of large, deciduous cells. Capsules mature summer. Shady, acid rock, soil over rock; moderate to high elevations; Greenland; Alta., B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr., N.W.T., N.S., Nunavut, Ont., Que., Sask., Yukon; Alaska, Colo., Maine, Mich., Minn., Mont., N.H., N.Y., Wis.; Eurasia; Atlantic Islands (Iceland).