[4] The mushrooms and vegetative hyphae of this species have been studied in recent years for their potential benefits to human health,[5] and mycoremediation.

[6] The taxonomic name of H. ulmarius means both “high up” (Hypsi-) and “yoke” (-zygus), referring to where the mushroom can be found attached to its host tree.

When famed French mycologist Robert Kühner revised fungi in the family Agaricales into more genera, the elm oyster mushroom was coined Lyophyllum ulmarium.

However, this species was most recently moved to its current genus as Hypsizygus ulmarius in 1984 by Canadian mycologist Scott Redhead.

Based on both culture morphologies and the phylogeny produced using the DNA, the authors agreed with Redhead's classification.

[8] Further DNA evidence suggests that the genus Hypsizygus is polyphyletic,[9] however, meaning that these species lack a common ancestor in the current phylogeny.

The stipe extends perpendicular from the fungus's host tree and then bends vertically to form the cap.

[12] There is conflicting data on the size of the sexual basidiospores of H. ulmarius, but the original description of the species by Redhead reports that they are usually about 5–7 micrometers in diameter.

There is both historical and modern interest in H. ulmarius’s possible medicinal applications, and most of these recent studies have been primarily performed in India.

Studies have found compounds in both the mycelium and the fruiting body believed to be anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antitumor[5] and antidiabetic.

[19] Additionally, laccase produced by H. ulmarius has also been shown to degrade different dyes, which could prove useful in treating water.