Its colonies contain upright fronds that are not folded uniformly and contain inclined tube-shaped corallites.

[3] T. patula is a zooxanthellate coral and houses symbiont dinoflagellates in its tissues.

[1] Figures of its population are unknown but are considered to be decreasing, but is likely to be threatened by the global reduction of coral reefs, the increase of temperature causing coral bleaching, climate change, human activity, parasites, and disease.

[1] The species is common in some subtropical areas and is found at depths of between 7 and 20 metres (23 and 66 ft) in shallow rocky regions and inshore reefs.

It occurs in the eastern Indian Ocean, northern Australia, the South China Sea and the northwestern, western, and western central Pacific Ocean.