Apothecia erumpent from host tissue at an early stage of development, often developing on a small clump of dark, partly immersed stromatic tissue; usually stipitate, less commonly more or less sessile. Receptacle surface pale or dark, clothed with setae. Setae smooth walled, septate, pale brown to very dark, sometimes hyaline and swollen at tip, variable in number and size between species. Ectal excipulum typically comprises three layers: outer layer usually only 1 cell thick, comprising radiating, meandering, long-celled hyphae with walls encrusted, often dark; central layer of cylindric to brick-shaped cells with walls hyaline, characteristically thickened and gelatinous; inner layer of cylindric cells with walls pale to dark brown, nongelatinous. Extent to which excipular layers develop varies between species, and some layers may be more or less lacking in some species. Setae arise from either the outer or central excipular layers, position from which they arise varying between species, and in some species, between setae on individual apothecia. Medullary excipulum comprising textura porrecta in stipe, textura intricata in receptacle, nongelatinous, comprising hyaline, thin-walled, narrow hyphae. Subhymenium hyaline, comprising dense textura intricata to textura epidermoidea. Paraphyses simple, or slightly swollen near apex, not or barely extending beyond asci. Asci cylindric to subclavate, apex slightly thickened, apical pore amyloid, 8-spored. Ascospores elliptic to fusoid, straight or slightly curved, often slightly wider in upper half, often flattened on one side, 0-septate, hyaline within asci, sometimes budding ascoconidia, sometimes becoming pale brown after release.

The complex excipular structure of Torrendiella spp., a general feature of the genus, is Rutstroemia-like. This, together with the presence of stromatic tissue in association with several of the species, provides strong morphological evidence for including Torrendiella in the Sclerotiniaceae, and at present we agree with Spooner (1987) and Galán et al. (1993) that this placement is appropriate.