The species is found exclusively on the lower parts of the culms of the saltmarsh Juncus roemerianus on the Atlantic Coast of North Carolina.
The hamathecium (a term referring to all hyphae developing between asci of the hymenium) is dense, containing many septate, and branched; the pseudoparaphyses anastomose in a gelatinous matrix.
The asci measure 75–90 by 13–16 μm, with a short stalk; they are eight-spored (the spores are arranged in two or three parallel rows), cylindrical, bitunicate (two-layered), thick-walled, and lack any specialized apparatus at the tip.
M. ricifera latter can be distinguished by the presence of a neck on the fruit body, the sparse pseudoparaphyses, and slightly larger ascospores measuring 19–25 by 5.5–7 μm.
Because the fruit bodies are found on the middle and upper parts of the culm, typically between 78 and 97 cm (31 and 38 in) above the rhizome, it is considered a terrestrial organism.