Thallus stellate-radiating, orbicular, closely attached, often minutely squamulose at margins, to 3 cm diam., bordered by a black or greyish, felted prothallus c. 0.5 mm wide, corticolous or saxicolous. Lobes narrow, 1-2 mm wide, sublinear, irregular, becoming imbricate and wrinkled-corrugate centrally, margins shallowly incised, slightly darkening, greyish-blue. Upper surface smooth, matt, often minutely wrinkled (×10 lens), scabrid, pale yellowish- to brownish-grey, sorediate. Soredia coarse granular, bluish-grey, mostly central, often forming a dense diffract-areolate crust. Lower surface dark brown or black, shining at margins, pale tomentose centrally. Apothecia sessile, to 1 mm diam., ± prominent, central, disc red-brown to blackened, plane to convex, proper margin entire, pale brownish to pinkish, persistent. Ascospores ellipsoid, 16-18 × 9-11 µm.