Lentinus crinitus is a white rot fungus so it is saprotrophic and is able to break down lignin and cellulose and use it for energy.

Known hosts of L. crinitus include dead wood from Nerium oleander, Hevea spp., Hippomane spp.,  Quercus spp., Barringtonia spp., Nyssa spp., Salix spp., Rhizophora mangle.

In South America, it can be found in Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, French Guiana, Guyana, and Argentina.

Its range in Central America includes the Dominican Republic, Belize, Costa Rica, Bahamas, Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, Martinique, Guatemala, Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Cayman Islands.

This means that this fungi is best suited to warmer and wetter climates so it is found in the summer months during the rainy season.

The cap ranges in shape from flat or slightly convex to depressed in the center or funnel-shaped (infundibuliform), with a leathery texture.

The gills (lamellae) extend slightly down the stem (decurrent), are narrow, somewhat forked, and finely toothed (denticulate), with a glandular surface.

The stipe, measuring 1.1–2.2 cm in length, can be central or off-center (eccentric) in relation to the cap, cylindrical, and leathery in texture, with a covering of light yellow scaly hairs (squamulose) and darker scales (squamules).

L crinitus can be used as a biological control against plant pathogenic fungi and bacteria since it has shown antimicrobial activity against 11 species of microorganisms, with greater activity against Aspergillus niger (spores), Aspergillus flavus (spores), and Mucor rouxii (spores)[10] L crinitus has potential to fight foodborne illness and food spoilage because extracts 1-desoxyhypnophylline (1) and 6,7-epoxy-4(15)-hirsuteno-5-ol (3), from the basidiocarp of L. crinitus basidiocarp showed antimicrobial activity against bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Micrococcus luteus, P. aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella enterica, Bacillus cereus, and Enterobacter cloacae; and fungi such as Aspergillus fumigatus, A. niger, Aspergillus versicolor, Penecillium.

Cultivation of this fungi provides nutritional alternatives in a growing world that has an increasing demand for food sources.

Lentinus citrinus cultivated on cupuaçu exocarp (Theobroma grandiflorum) mixed with litter (CE + LI) can have up to 27% protein.

The ability of the L. crinitus mycelium to convert agricultural waste to substrate with high protein, fiber, and nitrogen content may make it suitable for use as a beneficial soil amendment or as animal feed.

[16] The buildup of reactive oxygen species(free radicals) in the body causes oxidative stress, which seems to be linked to a number of clinical conditions, including aging, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurological illnesses, antioxidant compounds may provide relief to that but research is still limited and inconclusive.

[16] Polysaccharides extracted from L. crinitus basidiocarps shown antiproliferative action in breast carcinoma cells .

The Amazonian communities of the Yanomami and Txicó in Brazil, the Uitoto, Muinane, and Andoke (Caquetá) in Colombia, the rural Loreto in Peru, and the Hotï in Venezuela use mushrooms, including Lentinus crinitus, as a staple food.