The mushroom resembles undulating waves of tightly packed corals or a loose Chinese fan.

Gillies or split-gills vary from creamy yellow to pale white in colour.

The cap is small, 1–4 centimetres (3⁄8–1+5⁄8 in) wide with a dense yet spongey body texture.

It is known as the split-gill mushroom because of the unique, longitudinally divided nature of the namesake gills on the underside of the cap.

[1] It is found in the wild on decaying trees after rainy seasons followed by dry spells where the mushrooms are naturally collected.

[3] It has a tetrapolar mating system with each cell containing two mating-type loci (called A and B) that govern different aspects the mating process, leading to 4 possible phenotypes after cell fusion.

The preference for tough, rubbery mushrooms in the tropics was explained as a consequence of the fact that tender, fleshy mushrooms quickly rot in the hot humid conditions there, making their marketing problematic.

[11] In Northeast India, in the state Manipur, it is known as kanglayen and one of the favourite ingredients for Manipuri-style pancakes called paaknam.

[3] Schizophyllum is derived from [the Greek] Schíza meaning split because of the appearance of radial, centrally split, gill like folds; commune means common or shared ownership or ubiquitous.