[1] It is dioicous with males being the same size as females or larger.

[2] The following is a list of common names the species goes by: The species has a disjunct distribution where it occurs in Europe and eastern parts of North America.

[9] It is frequent in the Atlantic coastal plain but also occurs in the mountains.

[10] It is thought that the species was introduced to the British Isles from North America.

[5] British bryologist John Nowell was the first to find the species in Britain in 1848 near Rochdale,[11] and it was first found in Ireland during 1957.