A small reddish earthstar with pink‑bruising rays and a grooved beak; NZ lineage resembling G. morganii but genetically distinct.

Basidiome (immature): Subglobose to onion-shaped, 15-30 mm wide, covered in a reddish to reddish‑brown outer layer that may flake or crack to reveal a paler surface beneath. Surface often slightly roughened or patchy.
Basidiome (mature): Expands to 3-5 cm across when the exoperidium splits into 5-7 rays.
Rays: Triangular, recurved, forming a shallow bowl beneath the spore sac. Outer surface reddish-brown, sometimes patchy or scurfy. Inner surface beige to pale brown, often bruising pinkish to reddish when handled. Rays may crack or fissure with age, occasionally forming a shallow cup reminiscent of G. triplex.
Spore sac: (endoperidium) Globose, 15-30 mm diam. Surface smooth to faintly felty, brown to grey‑brown. Apex with a distinct, irregularly grooved or wrinkled beak (a key macroscopic character). Interior gleba white when young, becoming dark brown and powdery at maturity.
Rhizomorphs: White, attached at the base of the spore sac.