Thallus distinctly stalked, lobate-expanded, frond-like above, attached to substrate by a well-developed, root-like holdfast, to 25 cm tall. Stalk ± terete, brown or blackened. Lobes rather variable, thin or thick, tough, leathery when wet, often rather brittle when dry, flabellate, palmate, margins entire, sinuous, slightly notched, occasionally lacerate or ragged, often secondarily lobulate with non-stalked individuals at centre. Upper surface ± smooth, coriaceous, uneven or minutely roughened, slightly faveolate towards base, colour variable, bright-green, olive-green or brownish to ± blackened. Medulla white. Lower surface pale brown or buff, rarely whitish, to dark brownish-black, ± entirely glabrous to uniformly tomentose, tomentum rather short, pale buff to dark brown. Cyphellae numerous, scattered, urceolate with a raised margin, pit flat, pale buff or whitish, 0.2-5.0 mm diam. Apothecia scattered, mainly towards margins, small at periphery, larger, to 5 mm diam., towards centre, disc orange-yellow to red-brown, shining, plane or subconvex, margins entire, crenulate, sometimes excluded, pale whitish, thalline exciple minutely scabrid. Ascospores fusiform, straight or slightly curved, colourless, simple or 1- to 3- septate, rarely 4-5-septate, (20-)22-37 × 5-10(-12) µm.