The genus was circumscribed by German mycologist Julius Oscar Brefeld in 1888 with Oligoporus farinosus as the type.
[2] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek words ὀλίγος ("few") and πόρος ("pore").
[3] Oligoporus species have fruit bodies that are either crust-like or pileate (i.e., with a cap).
The hyphal structure is monomytic, meaning that only generative hyphae are produced.
Spores made by Oligoporus fungi are ellipsoid or have a short cylindrical shape.