Thallus immersed, forming an ashy white discoloration on the rock; hypothallus lacking. Perithecia immersed in the rock with only the tip showing, 0.4 mm broad; cavities are left in the substratum when the perithecia fall out; exciple pale; involucrellum black, the upper part thick, thinning toward the base and wrapping around the exciple; gelatin 1+ blue turning reddish; spores ellipsoid-oblong, 17-23 X 9-13 µm.

This species is found on calcareous rocks in the open. It is a circumpolar species of wide distribution from the arctic to the temperate zones. In North America it ranges south to New England, Colorado, and California.