[1] Like other polypores, its physical characteristics include a rigid and tough texture and a shelf-like appearance.

Most specimens of G. tornatum have a dark brown upper surface, though the ones found in the northwest of India and Pakistan have a lighter appearance.

[2] Physiologically, their mode of transmission is likely primarily through air-borne spores, as no rhizomorphs have been found.

In addition to parasitizing oil palms, G. tornatum has a variety of hosts, in comparison to other Ganoderma species.

Some places it occurs is south of the Sahara desert, the shores of the Pacific Ocean in Canada, and the north west of India and Pakistan, and from the Philippines to New Caledonia and Papua.