Thallus thick, coriaceous, orbicular to spreading, to 10 cm diam., closely to loosely attached, saxicolous or terricolous. Lobes narrow (5-10 mm wide), relatively short (to 25 mm long), often forming secondary, imbricate, clustered, ascending lobules centrally, margins entire to ± phyllidiate or lacerate, incised at apices, sinuous, often black and shining. Upper surface smooth, often wrinkled-convolute at centre, leathery, brownish-grey or reddish-brown or blackened, olive greenish-brown to red-brown at margins and there conspicuously white-maculate, mottled, pseudocyphellae evident towards lobe margins, sigmoid or forming a cracked reticulum of white lines in older parts. Lower surface smooth, black, moderately rhizinate. Rhizines black, simple or branched. Apothecia rare, subpedicellate, to 8 mm diam., disc red-brown, matt, plane or concave, imperforate, margins entire at first, becoming fissured with age, thalline exciple strongly maculate-cracked, pseudocyphellate. Ascospores ellipsoid, 10-14 × 7-8 µm. Chemistry: Cortex K+ yellow; medulla K+ yellow → red, C-, KC+ red, Pd+ orange. Salazinic acid and atranorin.