Plants: large, in tufts, golden. Stems: 5–10 cm, 3 mm wide, erect or ascending, simple or sparingly branched. Leaves: imbricate, ovate-lanceolate to ovate-triangular, strongly plicate, 1–5 mm; base slightly decurrent; margins partially recurved, entire; apex short-acuminate; ecostate or costa double, very short; basal laminal cells shorter, broader than medial cells, golden brown; medial cells linear, 84 × 6 µm. : Specialized asexual reproduction absent. Seta: golden brown. Capsule: frequently slightly asymmetric, 1.5–1.8 mm. Spores: 14–16 µm. North America, n, c Europe, Asia (Russian Arctic), Atlantic Islands (Iceland).
Varieties 5 (2 in the flora). Orthothecium chryseum has ovate-triangular perichaetial leaves. The sporophytes are infrequent; the capsules are ovoid-cylindric and contracted below the mouth when dry and empty.