Thalli mostly gregarious, caespitose, dark red, purplish red, or purple-violaceous, with creeping stolons (cylindrical, intricate and irregularly branched) giving rise to erect axes 6-20 cm high. Erect axes stout, sparingly divided, naked below or with the stubs of lateral branches and densely covered with numerous plumose branchlets on all sides above (pyramidal outline). Branchlets soft, delicate, repeatedly alternately divided. Apices extremely fine.