 The capsule lacks the peristome teeth and operculum of other mosses, and opens by splitting along 4 vertical slits, the four valves remaining joined at the base and apex.The capsule of "Andreaea" has no seta, but the sporophyte ("Spf" in the diagram below) instead is supported by a pseudopodium ("ps") derived from gametophyte tissue, as in "Sphagnum" and the columella is enclosed within the sporangium.The spores germinate to give thalloid protonemata.