Brown colored colonies with yellow tips (may appear green) form thickets of intertwining bottlebrush branches, usually with only the distal 200 millimetres being alive. Branches divide irregularly and at frequent intervals to give a bushy colony shape. Axial and incipient axial corallites are tubular and tapered. Radial corallites are short and appressed.

Least concern according to the IUCN Red list. The most important known threat for this species is extensive reduction of coral reef habitat due to a combination of threats. Specific population trends are unknown but population reduction can be inferred from estimated habitat loss. It is widespread and common throughout its range and therefore is likely to be more resilient to habitat loss and reef degradation because of an assumed large effective population size that is highly connected and/or stable with enhanced genetic variability. Therefore, the estimated habitat loss of 22% from reefs already destroyed within its range is the best inference of population reduction since it may survive in coral reefs already at the critical stage of degradation. This inference of population reduction over three generation lengths (30 years) does not meet the threshold of a threat category and this species is Least Concern. However, because of predicted threats from climate change and ocean acidification it will be important to reassess this species in 10 years or sooner, particularly if the species is also observed to disappear from reefs currently at the critical stage of reef degradation.

Western Pacific. It prefers back reefs with restricted access to open water and soft substrates, in a depth range of 5-35 meters.

Reproduction through simultaneous spawning of both male and female gametes.