The cells exhibit a spherical, oval, or hemispherical shape. They form flattened, free-living colonies that are more or less rectangular and consist of a single layer of cells. These colonies are arranged in either loose or dense perpendicular rows, creating a grid-like pattern. Surrounded by a fine, colorless, typically unclear, and marginally diffuse mucilage, these organisms reproduce exclusively through fission, with cell division occurring in only two directions.