The lichen has a chalky, greyish body (the thallus) with distinctive reproductive structures (apothecia) that change appearance as the organism matures.

Modern genetic studies have placed it in the Lecideaceae family of fungi, revealing its close relationship to lichens in the genus Porpidia.

In his description of Biatora turgida, Acharius provided an account of the lichen's morphological features and emphasised the care required to correctly identify it.

He noted that B. turgida grows on rocks in the mountain forests of Vallis Freniere, Switzerland, a location documented by the collector Johann Christoph Schleicher.

This arrangement has largely endured in subsequent overviews of fungal classification,[3][4][5] although an alternate placement in the genus Porpidia was suggested in 2004.

The ascospores, which are the reproductive spores, are quite large, measuring 28–30 micrometres in length, and the hypothecium, the layer beneath the apothecia, is significantly reduced.