This inedible cup-shaped fungus is black, and grows on the ground often near willows in deciduous or mixed forests.

The black fruit body (technically called an apothecium) is cup-shaped, covered with either scales or small silk-like surface fibrils (fibrillose), and up to 5 centimetres (2 inches) in diameter.

The upper margin of the fruit body cup may be rounded with scalloped or lobed edges (crenate).

[3] Plectania nannfeldtii is a similar-looking fungus with a black-colored stalked cup, but this species has a longer stipe, up to 5 centimetres (2.0 in); microscopically, it has larger spores (typically 23–28 by 11–14 μm).

[1] This mushroom appears to have a high tolerance for otherwise inhospitable growing conditions, as it has been found growing on caustic spoil mounds (the end-product of many mining and manufacturing operations) of a alkali factory in Kraków, Poland,[8] as well as on abandoned uranium tailings in Ontario, Canada.