The corallites (skeletal cups in which the polyps sit) are widely separated and are only on the upper side of the plates.

The corallites are 1.5 to 2 mm (0.06 to 0.08 in) in diameter, have thick walls and are either sunk into the coenosteum (skeletal tissue) or are conical in shape.

[2] Turbinaria reniformis has a very wide distribution with a range extending from the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, through the Indian Ocean, the central Indo-Pacific, to northern Australia, southern Japan, the South China Sea and island groups in the West and Central Pacific.

It has been found that when the surrounding sea water is moderately enriched with nitrogen, the coral can better withstand thermal stress and retain its zooxanthellae.

Breeding takes place synchronously with all the colonies in an area liberating their gametes into the sea about a week after the full moon in November.