Bryobrittonia pellucida was described by Williams in 1901 from a sterile specimen. He suggested a relationship with some members of the Pottiaceae. In 1953, Steere described the sporophyte ofB. pellucida and placed it in the Encalyptaceae. The type ofEncalypta longipes Mitten (1865), a fruiting specimen collected by Drummond in western Canada, is what is presently known asB. pellucida; therefore, the new combination,B. longipes, is made. The distinctive morphological and ecological features of the genusBryobrittonia are described in relation to those of the genusEncalypta. On the basis of both sporophytic and gametophytic characteristics,E. streptocarpa andE. procera are the species most closely related toB. longipes.