Solenosmilia variabilis grows into small bushy colonies, the dichotomous branches often joining.

The coenosteum can be smooth and white, granular, glossy and pale grey, or ridged with eight to ten transverse costae.

The corallites are up to 5 millimetres (0.2 in) in diameter, with the septa grouped in sixes, arranged in three or more cycles.

[4] In this location, it is a major part of a diverse community which is easily damaged by deepwater trawling.

It is a long-lived species with a growth rate of about 1 millimetre (0.04 in) per year and it may be adversely affected by ocean acidification and climate change.