None is of any great economic importance, though Sarcodon imbricatus is edible and commercially marketed, whilst several species have been used for craft dyeing.

Corner in 1968,[1] the order was not formally published till 1976 when German mycologist Franz Oberwinkler first described it as encompassing the families Thelephoraceae and Bankeraceae.

As originally conceived, species within the order had diverse basidiocarp (fruit body) forms, but shared several features in common, notably similarities in basidiospore shape (most having spiny to warted, often lobed spores) and similarities in basidiocarp colours, linked to the presence of thelephoric acid derivatives and often accompanied by blue to greenish reactions with alkalis.

[2] Molecular research, based on cladistic analysis of DNA sequences, has supported the morphological concept of the Thelephorales, indicating that the order forms a distinct grouping within the Agaricomycetes, close to the Polyporales.

[8] Several species within the Thelephorales have been used for dyeing wool by modern craft-dyers, including Hydnellum caeruleum in North America,[9] Sarcodon squamosus in Scandinavia,[10] and Thelephora palmata in Scotland.