The species was first described by mycologists Jan Kohlmeyer, Brigitte Volkmann-Kohlmeyer, and Ove Eriksson in a 1996 Mycological Research publication.

The ascomata lack paraphyses; the ostiolar canal is formed when pseudoparenchymatous cells in the center of the neck dissolve or tear apart.

In this process, a small flat cap retracts to form a roughly spherical or irregular, temporary structure at the tip of the ascus.

Olive-brown in color, they are surrounded by a uniform gelatinous sheath about 6 μm thick, and have an umbilicus (a single compact strand of fused hyphae) at the top.

When grown in pure culture, the fungus forms conidiomata that make ellipsoidal, one-celled, brown conidia, measuring 4.5–7 by 2.5–3.5 μm.

[1] Paraphaeosphaeria michotii has a rather similar morphology to P. pilleata, but can be distinguished microscopically by the lack of both an umbilicus and an evanescent cap on the tips of the asci.