[4] As it is an aquatic moss, it was first classified in the Fontinalaceae (and in the order of Isobryales[5]), but molecular studies have shown that it is more closely related to the Dicranaceae.

The genus name of Wardia is in honour of Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward (1791–1868), who was an English doctor.

[6]The specific epithet hygrometrica refers to the hygroscopic nature of the seta (stalk).

The leaves are evenly spaced, spreading to erect-appressed when dry, although variable in shape and length, they are generally broadly elliptical and up to 2.2 mm long.

[4] It grows on rocks, either submerged or in splash-zones of fast-flowing mountain streams and waterfalls.