Fruiting body a stalked (or more rarely sessile) sporangium. Sporotheca globose or prolate. Stalk short to (for a few species) relatively long, black, consisting of netted and longitudinal fibres, usually opaque in transmitted light. Hypothallus discoid or contiguous for a group of sporangia, membranous. Peridium membranous, persistent, often iridescent, eventually dehiscing irregularly, usually leaving a collar around the stalk. Columella well developed, usually relatively thick and reaching to about half way up the sporotheca, often truncate. Capillitium arising from the apex of the columella or more rarely from the whole length of the columella, the branches dividing a few times and often anastomosing to form a net, usually with many free ends, which in some species are connected to the peridium. Spores in mass dark brown to black.
More than 40 species of Lamproderma have been described (Lado 2001), most of which are montane. Six species are known from New Zealand. The genus was first reported from New Zealand by Colenso (1887), based on an old and apparently weathered specimen (from Hawkes Bay) that could not be determined to species.