[2] Cordylecladia erecta grows in small tufts from a disc-like, rhizoidal, crustose base attached to rock but often hidden beneath the sand.

[3] This seaweed could be confused with Ahnfeltia plicata but that species is more bushy with wiry fronds that branch irregularly and are only 1 mm (0.04 in) in diameter.

Its range extends from the Shetland Islands southwards but in the British Isles it is mostly found on the south and west coasts.

[1][3] The life cycle of Cordylecladia erecta involves an alternation of generations with both sexual and asexual phases.

Male gametophyte plants have spermatangial sori that form pod-like structures 4 to 7 mm (0.16 to 0.28 in) long close to the tips of the fronds.