The tail is pointed. Adult males are similar in appearance, about 1200 um long with a short bluntly rounded tail. Copulatory spicules are located close to the tail. Adult females are virtually spherical, approximately 450 um in diameter with a projecting neck containing the oesophagus and associated glands. The cyst , when found in soil samples, is a medium brown to a dark brown, the colour of polished oak furniture.
Most mature cysts are spherical, with a prominent stalk.
The stalk is the head and neck. The cysts of other species of cyst nematode are often shaped very much like a lemon with a prominent stalk and calyx. Stone H. rostochiensis Wollenweber Fig. S. Wallace, R. Favrin , Plant Health Survey Unit.