Habitat: wet places; on bark especially near water; rarely on rocks.
Chromosome number: n = 10, with one or two supernumeraries.
Genera: Cryphaea, Cryphaeophilum, Cryphidium, Cyptodon, Cyptodontopsis, Dendroalsia, Dendrocryphaea, Dendropogonella, Pilotrichopsis, Schoenobryum, Sphaerotheciella.
BotanyGametophyte. Pleurocarpous; forming patches (these dark green). Primary stems procumbent (stoloniform, the secondary stems erect, procumbent or sometimes pendulous, homomallous). Paraphyllia absent. Pseudoparaphyllia present. The leaves ovate; spiral; longitudinally plicate, or not plicate; single-nerved. The leaf nerves extending beyond the middle of the leaf, but not to the tip. Leaf blade apices pointed; apically acute to acuminate. Leaf blade margins proximally narrowly revolute or recurved, or flat; entire. The basal leaf cells more or less isodiametric to somewhat longitudinally elongated; rounded; papillose to smooth. The walls of basal leaf cells thick; straight. The angular cells clearly differentiated (sometimes somewhat enlarged), or not well differentiated. The mid-leaf cells more or less isodiametric to somewhat longitudinally elongated (1 to 1.5 times as long as wide); rounded; papillose to smooth. The walls of the mid-leaf cells thick; straight.
Plants monoecious; autoecious.
Capsules: immersed, sessile or sub-sessile, on one side of the stem; symmetrical; straight; sub-cylindric to ellipsoid; with an annulus; with a peristome, nearly white; peristome teeth 16, not grouped, not deeply cleft, not perforated, thin, membranous, and transversely barred, finely papillose, exteriorly with a fine longitudinal dividing line between the transverse bars; inner peristome reduced, or rudimentary, about equalling the outer, with a basal membranous ring (this short), or without a basal membranous ring; with elongated “processes” (these filiform), ciliate, or without cilia; operculum more or less conical; setae usually very short; rough calyptra!.