[1] A colony of Favites complanata forms a solid dome or mound.

The corallites (stony cups in which the polyps sit) are large and somewhat angular, with thick, rounded walls between them.

The paliform lobes are distinct on the first whorl of septa and the columella at the centre of the corallite is large.

[1] The polyps of Favites complanata expand and extend their tentacles to catch plankton, but much of the nutritional requirements of this coral are met by the zooxanthellae housed within its tissues.

These symbiotic unicellular dinoflagellates use photosynthesis to create organic molecules.