Plants are up to 20cm high, usually shorter. The main stipe is swollen with many similarly shaped side branches which are constricted at their point of origin and rounded at the tips. The whole plant is filled with a thick, clear slime. The holdfast is a small disc from which several stipes may arise. The colour is greenish brown, pale yellow at the tips, older plants are dark brown. The texture is turgid and firm becoming leathery with age.

Found on rock in the intertidal on moderately exposed coasts.

Uses the sun's energy for photosynthesis.

Seaweeds of NZ; Adams