Metzgeriaceae

Epiphytic, epiphyllous, on logs, occasionally lithophytic or rarely terrestrial, monoicous or dioicous with female and male plants similar in size. Asexual reproduction by discoid to elliptic or oblong gemmae produced on thallus margins or adaxial thallus surface. Plant comprising a repetitively dichotomous or irregularly bipinnate (not in Victoria) thallus, sometimes also branching from abaxial midrib, with distinct or indistinct (not in Victoria) midrib and wings; branches linear or narrowly lingulate; wings pale green, yellowish green or olive green, often abaxially and rarely adaxially with hairs; wing margins entire or spinose (not in Victoria), rarely with inrolled and inflated sac-like lobes, often with solitary or paired hairs; wings cells unistratose or rarely multistratose except near margin (not in Victoria) or 2–3-stratose near margin (not in Victoria), polygonal or rectangular (not in Victoria), smooth or rarely papillose (not in Victoria), thin- to thick-walled, without distinct trigones, without oil bodies, uniform throughout or with a distinct border one cell wide of much more thicker-walled and elongate pointed cells (not in Victoria). Rhizoids scattered along abaxial midrib, without internal peg-like thickenings, hyaline. Antheridia concealed in sac-like, reduced, circinate, hairy or glabrous abaxial branch with incurved lateral margins, on adaxial midrib. Sporophyte surrounded by a coelocaule, produced on adaxial surface, near base of short, flattened obcordate to obovate abaxial hairy branch; coelocaule clavate, fleshy, hairy or with dentate scales; involucre absent; pseudoperianth absent. Seta elongate. Capsule ovoid to obloid or globose, unistratose (not in Victoria) or bistratose, dehiscing by 4, rarely 3 (not in Victoria) valves; elaters present, unispiral or without any trace of spiral thickening (not in Victoria). Spores globose, smooth or finely granulate, yellow, brown or reddish-brown, shed singly.