[3] It is a small, delicate plant that forms prostrate growths on rotting logs in forests throughout the northern temperate and subarctic regions (the Holarctic realm).

The plant shows seasonal colour variation from rose to purple to brown to spring green, developing reddish-purple pigmentation in autumn and winter.

[4] The species was later recognised as closely related to Jungermannia bicuspidata and J. connivens by William Jackson Hooker (1812), and all three were placed in the genus Cephalozia by Barthélemy Charles Joseph Dumortier in 1835.

The plant has striking colours, which can range from rose to purple to brown to spring green, with reddish-purple pigmentation often developing during autumn and winter months.

The lower lobe's edge is folded inward to form a specialised water-holding pocket called a water-sac, a feature that distinguishes this species from its relatives.

[4] The plant's size is diminutive, with individual leaves measuring less than half a millimetre (400–470 micrometres) in width, making it necessary to use a hand lens or microscope to observe its detailed features.

This level of genetic differentiation suggests there may be cryptic species within what is currently recognised as N. curvifolia, particularly in Asia, or the presence of distinct geographical races.