On wave-exposed reef slopes it is encrusting whereas in calm water areas it can grow into large helmet-shaped or hemispherical hummocks up to 6 metres (20 ft) high and wide.

The general colour is greenish, yellow or tan because of the zooxanthellae, single-celled microalgae, that live symbiotically within the tissues.

[5] Porites lobata is a common species of coral and is found in the tropical parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Gametes are liberated into the water column and the developing planula larvae drift with the currents as part of the zooplankton.

Breakup may happen as a result of wave damage or it may be due to the skeletal structure of the coral being weakened by the boring activities of date mussels (Lithophaga spp.)

[1] The snapping or pistol shrimp (Alpheus deuteropus) is a commensal and lives among the lobes where it may form grooves and tunnels.