Plants: medium-sized, in moderately loose to dense tufts, light green or yellowish to brownish. Stems: 2.5–7 cm, creeping to dendroid-arching, straight to curved, terete-foliate, julaceous, occasionally regularly pinnate, branches to 6 mm, straight to slightly curved, terete- to complanate-foliate. Stem: leaves erect, or patent and twisted to contorted, broadly ovate-triangular, broadest at 1/7 leaf length or below, slightly plicate, often shorter than broad, 0.7–1.2 × 0.8–1.2 mm; base broadly long-decurrent; margins serrulate to near base; apex broadly acute to rounded-truncate and short-apiculate, often cucullate; costa to 40–70% leaf length, weak, terminal abaxial spine absent; alar cells subquadrate to short-rectangular, to 45 × 25 µm, walls moderately thin, region of 5–7 × 8–14 cells, pellucid, reaching from margin 50–80% distance to costa, abruptly differentiated; laminal cells 15–40 × 6–12 µm, slightly prorate to prorate-papillose on abaxial surface; basal cells to 15 µm wide, region in 2 or 3 rows. Sporophytes: unknown in North America.

Soil, rock, cliff bases, under dense Alnus canopy, bottom of gullies, sides of brooks, moderate to strong shade, wet to mesic places. low to moderate elevations (0-300 m). B.C., Alaska, e Asia.

Records of Bryhnia hultenii from eastern North America are here referred to B. novae-angliae. These species are closely related, but, although some specimens are difficult to interpret, most can be identified. The appearance of B. hultenii is rather different from B. novae-angliae, as its stem foliage is julaceous, and its leaves are rather equal in size, strongly concave, and cucullate. Microscopic characters are highly variable. Bryhnia hultenii can usually be differentiated from B. novae-angliae by its sharply differentiated alar region composed of thin-walled, pellucid cells, as well as by the costa becoming thin distally and lacking a spine. H. Robinson (1962) found B. hultenii indistinguishable from B. novae-angliae.

Plants: medium-sized, in moderately loose to dense tufts, light to dark green or yellowish to brownish. Stems: to 10 cm, creeping to arching, slightly curved or flexuose, terete- to subcomplanate-foliate, rarely julaceous along some portions of stem, occasionally regularly pinnate, branches to 7 mm, straight to slightly curved, subcomplanate- to complanate-foliate. Stem: leaves erect, or patent and twisted to contorted, ovate-triangular to ovate, broadest at 1/7 leaf length or below, not or slightly plicate, longer than broad, 1–1.3(–1.6) × 0.7–1.1 mm; base decurrent; margins serrulate or serrate almost to base; apex acute or gradually to abruptly short-acuminate, rarely cucullate; costa to 60–80% leaf length, strong, terminal abaxial spine present; alar cells short-rectangular, to 30 × 12–16 µm, walls moderately thick, region of many cells, pellucid, not reaching margins, gradually differentiated; laminal cells 20–40 × 4–6 µm, variable on different leaves on same plant, 3–8:1, strongly prorate to prorate-papillose on abaxial surface; basal cells 10–13 µm wide, region in 1 or 2 rows. Seta: 1–2 cm. Capsule: inclined to horizontal, slightly curved, 1.5–2 mm. Spores: 14–18 µm.

Soil, rock, rotten logs, wet shady places, forests, along small brooks, wet places on slopes. low to high elevations (0-1900 m). N.B., Nfld. and Labr., N.S., Ont., P.E.I., Que., Ala., Ark., Conn., Del., Ga., Ill., Ind., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Mo., N.H., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Pa., R.I., Tenn., Vt., Va., W.Va., Wis., Europe.

Specimens labeled as Bryhnia novae-angliae from Alaska appear to belong to B. hultenii. Both species are highly variable, so there are morphotypes in both species that have almost identical characters. The common phenotype of B. novae-angliae has its branch leaves rigidly spreading and markedly smaller than stem leaves, but this is not consistent, and sometimes plants are quite similar to Brachythecium rivulare. However, the shorter, usually strongly prorate to prorate-papillose laminal cells indicate Bryhnia. Bryhnia novae-angliae is especially variable near its southern limit; some plants in that region are little branched. Others, as in North Carolina, have blunt leaves resembling Eurhynchiastrum pulchellum; they differ from this species in having flexuose and shorter laminal cells and larger plant size.