The valleys are meandroid and may be short or long, depending on the habitat in which the coral grows.

This coral is quite variable in colour, most often being some shade of green or brown, with the valley floor often contrasting with the rest of the surface.

[5] This widespread and common species can be found in shallow or clear waters in the Indo-West Pacific (Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean, Australia, Southeast Asia, Japan and China Sea).

[2] It obtains most of its nutritional needs from the symbiotic dinoflagellates that live within its soft tissues, supplementing this with the planktonic organisms caught by the polyps.

The main threats faced by corals are related to the mechanical destruction of their coral reef habitats and climate change; these include increasing damage from extreme weather events, rising sea water temperatures and ocean acidification.