Its present accepted name dates from 1909, when Austrian mycologist ´Franz Xaver Rudolf von Höhnel transferred it to the genus Oudemansiella.

The genus Oudemansiella was established in 1881 by Carlos Luigi Spegazzini and named in honour of the Dutch mycologist Cornelius Anton Jan Abraham Oudemans (1825–1906).

The surface layer resembles spore-bearing tissue, with erect club-shaped cells, but lacks functional basidia (i.e. cap cuticle is hymeniform).

When porcelain mushrooms grow from the underside of the tree, the stems will curl in a way so the caps are all held horizontally, with the gills facing down.

O. mucida occurs throughout northern and central Europe, where beech is found and in its habitat this fungus is a common species.

When O. mucida is found on a beech tree, it usually outcompetes other fungi locally by means of a powerful anti-fungal agent called strobilurin.