Thallus loosely attached, to 15 cm diam., rather thick, coriaceous, corticolous or saxicolous. Lobes rounded to broadly linear-laciniate (12-20 × 5 mm), undulate centrally, margins entire, sinuous or subcrenate, black and shining, often ascending and slightly thickened. Upper surface smooth, waxy, often white-pruinose, sometimes coarsely wrinkled, greenish-grey (becoming distinctly yellowish on storage), pseudocyphellae rather few, small, fleck-like, mainly at margins. Soralia common, marginal, rarely laminal, globose to linear-confluent, soredia whitish, becoming grey-black with age, rather coarse and granular. Lower surface black, rhizinate, often with a smooth, naked, shining, brown marginal zone. Rhizines black, simple to squarrosely branched, sparse to dense. Apothecia rare, subpedicellate, disc plane to distinctly concave, matt, brown, imperforate, margins entire or shallowly incised, thalline exciple strongly wrinkled and pseudocyphellate, not sorediate. Ascospores ellipsoid, 11-15 × 6.5-8.3 µm. Pycnidia rare, minute, black, punctiform, towards margins. Chemistry: Cortex K+ yellow; medulla K+ yellow → red, C-, KC+ red, Pd+ orange. Salazinic acid and atranorin.