Thallus grey to whitish-grey or creamish, smooth or warted-areolate, plicate, rugose, areolae, 1-3 mm diam., separated by gaping cracks or ± continuous, uneven, effuse or lacking, matt or slightly shining, Apothecia conspicuous, scattered to frequent, sessile, constricted at base, 0.2-3 mm diam., rounded to subirregular, disc black, matt or shining, epruinose, concave to plane to ± undulate-irregular to convex, thalline margin conspicuous, persistent, white, entire or crenulate or flexuose, inflexed when young. Epithecium dark red-brown 8-13 µm thick, dense. Hymenium dark brown, to 120 µm thick. Paraphyses thick, dense, 5-7 µm thick, apices capitate, 8.5 µm thick, dark brown. Asci globose to clavate, 52 × 17.4 µm. Ascospores biseriate, often difficult to find, ellipsoid, 10-15 × (5-)6-8 µm. Chemistry: Atranorin and α-collatolic acid.