Region: nearly worldwide, mainly tropical and hyperoceanic south temperate regions.
Genera: 14; ± 150 species.
BotanyMoss; small to medium-sized, turfs or mats, dark green, yellow-green, or brownish.
Stems: short, often deep red, terete-foliate, complanate, not or sparingly branched; transverse-section cells moderately differentiated, cortex deeply red pigmented, outer cortical cells somewhat smaller, walls thicker, inner cortical cells somewhat larger, walls thinner, central strand usually absent; pseudoparaphyllia absent, rarely filamentous; rhizoids from stem base, sometimes clustered below leaf base, sparingly branched (not 2-pinnate or 3-pinnate); axillary hair cells hyaline, 3–4 (–12), basal-cell usually small, brown.
Leaves: spirally inserted, crowded, isophyllous; margins plane or variably revolute on same stem (throughout one side, partially proximally or distally), entire, serrate, or ciliate; bordered, rarely not; costa usually single, stout; alar cells not differentiated; laminal cells short, usually rounded, isodiametric, oval, rhomboidal, hexagonal, or elongate-hexagonal, smooth, walls usually firm or incrassate.
Specialized asexual reproduction various, infrequent to common. Sexual condition autoicous, or synoicous.
Seta lateral, usually elongate, smooth or roughened to spinose.
Capsule: erect or inclined; annulus absent; operculum erect, subulate, beaked; peristome diplolepidous, double; exostome teeth 16, thin, not bordered or furrowed, papillose; endostome basal membrane low, segments densely papillose, cilia reduced or absent.
Calyptra: mitrate, base fringed of 1-celled hairs, 1-stratose at middle, usually naked, rarely densely hairy.
Genera: Achrophyllum, Adelothecium, Beeveria, Benitotania, Bryobrothera, Calyptrochaeta, Crosbya, Daltonia, Distichophyllidium, Distichophyllum, Ephemeropsis, Leskeodon, Leskeodontopsis, Metadistichophyllum.