E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Species description:
Genus name based on the conspicuous snout of the operculum. Species name indicating pretty and small, perhaps referring to the neat leaf arrangement on the shoots.

Reproduction:
Sporophytes relatively frequent, maturing in spring to summer, dark to red-brown.

Distinguishing characteristics:
Of the creeping, branching mosses, the blunt-tipped leaves with toothed margins and a single midrib are characteristic.

Habit:
Forming loose to dense mats of reclining to suberect, light to dark green plants that vary considerably in density of branches and in size of the plants.

Similar Species:
The species of Kindbergia have sharply pointed leaves that, on the main stem, have the basal part somewhat incurved to the stem and the upper portion curving outward, while in Eurhynchium the whole leaf diverges. The blunt leaves distinguish E. pulchellum from Brachythecium, although some specimens of B. fendleri are troublesome to distinguish from small specimens of E. pulchellum, but the leaves of the Bracbythecium tend to be sharp pointed and margins are not toothed.