On (usually moss-covered) bark of various living deciduous trees. Autumn to winter. Widespread but apparently not very common. In Norway most records are from southern parts, but recorded north to Nordland.

Pileus 2.5-7(-10) mm across, hemispherical, parabolical to convex, often somewhat flattened or depressed centrally, sulcate, translucent-striate, pruinose, vinaceous red, brownish pink, dark violet, pale brown with a lilaceous tinge, turning more brownish at age. Lamellae 6-14 reaching the stipe, broad, the edge convex, ascending to subhorizontal, adnate, more or less decurrent with a short tooth, at first concolorous with the pileus, pallescent, turning whitish, finally more or less sepia grey-brown, the edge paler. Stipe 4-20 x 0.2-1 mm, curved, pruinose to white-floccose, glabrescent, becoming shiny, more or less concolorous with the pileus, the base densely covered with long, white fibrils. Odour and taste insignificant.

Basidia 26-36 x 10.5-13.5 µm, clavate, 4-spored or 2-spored. Spores from 4-spored basidia 8-11 x 8-10 µm, from 2-spored basidia up to 14.5 µm, Q 1.0-1.3, Qav ~ 1.1, globose to subglobose, amyloid. Cheilocystidia 15-40 x 6-14 µm, occurring mixed with basidia, clavates, covered with unevenly spaced, simple to branched, curved to tortuous excrescences up to 1-10 x 0.5-1.5 µm. Pleurocystidia absent. Lamellar trama dextrinoid, vinescent in Melzer’s reagent. Hyphae of the pileipellis 2.5-9 µm wide, covered with warts or cylindrical excrescences 1.5-12 x 1-1.5 µm. Hyphae of the cortical layer of the stipe 1-4 µm wide, smooth to diverticulate, excrescences 1-9 x 1-1.5 µm, the terminal cells (caulocystidia) 30- 80 µm long, usually slender, clavate, diverticulate. Clamps present in 4-spored form, absent in 2-spored form.