The colonies of P. meandrina can be fairly solid and dome-shaped or branching with areas that are either flattened and ridge-like or fine and convoluted.

The colour ranges from brown to pink and the polyps with their extended tentacles are usually visible only at night.

The larvae develop inside the body of the polyp and are not expelled into the water until they are mature.

They remain free swimming for a number of weeks before settling and starting to build a hard matrix.

These symbionts produce energy-rich compounds which the polyps metabolise while the rigid structure of the shallow water coral provides a stable, well-lit, protective environment for the algae to flourish.