Perennial fruiting bodies, sessile, have grown sideways. Round or semi-round when young. The shape of the fruiting body is variable, it can be pillow-like or hoof-like. The leg of the mushroom is missing. In wet weather, very large drops of transparent liquid are often visible on the fruit body.
The cap is of medium size, in old mushrooms it is 15 cm (up to 30 cm) wide and up to 10 cm high. A characteristic feature of the cap is the presence of clearly visible concentric zones, separated by indentations and different in color. Old areas of the cap have a gray-gray or dark gray-brown, often almost black shade. The growing outer whorl has a characteristic red, orange (sometimes cinnabar-red) or yellow-orange color with a lighter outer edge. The skin is matte, uneven, closer to the center it is slightly resinous.
The flesh is dense, elastic, felty or cork-like, sometimes woody. Flake on the fault. The pulp usually has a light yellowish-beige or light brown shade, but in old fruit bodies it can be chestnut-colored or even chocolate-brown.
The hymenophore is tubular, located horizontally. The color is beige or cream, usually with a pink tint. When pressed, it darkens to a dark brown or gray-brown color.
Spore powder is light, cream, whitish or yellowish. Spawning is very abundant. In warm, dry weather, the spore powder is clearly visible below the fruiting body.
Spores are colorless, small (6-8x3.5-4 μm), ovoid or elliptical in shape.
Framed tinder grows on bushes, stumps, dryness of most deciduous and coniferous species. It can also affect weakened live trees. Fruiting bodies on living trees usually grow in the lower part of the tree.
Bordered tinder is used as a raw material for medicinal preparations in homeopathy and in Chinese folk medicine.