Description: Small moss, forming dense, dark-brown hoary (whitish) tufts,
5 - 8 mm (0.3 in.) high. Leaves appressed, with hyaline hair points. When moist, leaves erect or erect spreading, but not contorted when dry. Upper leaf cells bistratose (having cells in two layers). Sporophytes (fruit) with short setae of about 1 mm, deeply immersed, and with a hand lens appear like orange-brown dots among the leaves. Capsules with
peristome (fringe of teeth).
Habitat: Occurs on north facing limestone rocks exposed to the sun in the creosote-bursage community. Elevation: 817 m (2,680 ft).
Range: Known from only three populations worldwide: one in west Texas, one in Arizona, and one from the Newberry Mountains, Clark County, Nevada.
Comments: The peristomate capsule distinguishes this species from one of the most common mosses in Nevada, the gymnostomous (lacking a peristome) Grimmia anodon.

Lloyd Stark, UNLV