The squamose, red pileus soon fades to a pale tan and forms coarse squamules. A veil (an extension of the pileus margin) covers the hymenophore at first and then breaks up into appendiculate remnants. The tubes are yellow and change to blue when bruised. The spores have longitudinal ridges with transverse striae when observed with a light microscope (visible as subcostal lacunae in SEM view). The taxon can be locally abundant in some areas (e.g., the Cordillera de Guanacaste under Quercus oleoides). Several subspecific taxa have been described by Singer et al. (Beih. Nova Hedwigia 105: 1-61. 1992).