Ecology: Transitional upper montane to páramo and puna; on soil, humus and rocks. Rather frequent, at elevations from 3240-4550 m (Venezuela: ? m, Colombia: 3240-4300 m, Ecuador: 3310-4050 m, Peru: 4400 m, Bolivia: 3400-4550 m). Distribution: Central America and tropical Andes.
Campylopus cavifolius is among the largest species of the genus with plants to 10 cm and leaves equally foliate, to 12 mm long, the costa ill-defined, in cross-section hyalocysts large, twice as high as wide, alar region weakly developed, basal cells rectangular and thin-walled becoming narrower toward the margin, upper cells oblong-ovat, ± thick-walled.
Specimens: VENEZUELA. Mérida: Griffin et al. PV-1083 (FLAS). COLOMBIA. Arauca: Cleef 10087 [Bryophyta Neotropica Exsiccata II: 55] (MO, NY, etc.), Cleef 8976 [Bryophyta Neotropica Exsiccata III: 104] (MO, NY, etc.); Cundinamarca: Florschütz 3821 [Campylopodes Exsiccatae 161] (MO, etc.), 20 Oct 1988, Frahm [Campylopodes Exsiccatae 132] (MO, etc.). ECUADOR. Carchi: 6 Oct 1988, Frahm et al. [Campylopodes Exsiccatae 150] (MO, etc.).