From a vivid lettuce-green or olive-green when wet to a pale greyish-green when dry, they often carry brownish undertones, particularly towards their tips.

[5] Pseudocyphellaria carpoloma has a white medulla (the inner layer), and it possesses a photobiont (photosynthesising partner), the green algal species Chlorella sphaerica.

[6] The lower surface ranges from a pale yellow margin to a buff, brownish or dark red-brown central region.

This surface features a noticeable rim and has a silky, bullate (blistered) texture that transitions to a slight hairiness towards the centre.

[5] The apothecia (fruiting bodies) of Pseudocyphellaria carpoloma are marginal and have a matt disc that ranges from a pale to dark red-brown when wet and turns black when dry.