Colonies are small massive forms, or may form thick oval plates. Its colour is cream to green-brown.

The distinctive character of this species is the oval corallites which protrude conspicuously above the surface between the corallites (coenesteum). Corallites are markedly oval and become elongated, almost meandroid, before dividing. Corallites are well separated from each other, and the surface between them is granular.

In deeper water the plates tend to have rounded corallites with single centres and have been called D. stellaris (see photo 2).