It is widely dispersed in temperate zones of the Northern Hemisphere, where it grows on decaying wood.

The fungus fruit body consists of a fan-shaped, light orange fuzzy cap up to 8 cm (3 in) wide that grows singly or in overlapping clusters.

Mock oyster mushrooms have a strong, unpleasant odor, and are regarded as inedible though nonpoisonous.

The former species can be distinguished by a deeper orange color, thinner gills with wider inter-gill spacing, and curved to sausage-shaped spores.

Its range extends north to Alaska,[6] and includes Costa Rica, where it has been recorded in the Talamanca mountains and on the Poas Volcano.