The gills, which produce basidiospores on their surface, split when the mushroom dries out, earning this mushroom the common name split gill. It is common in rotting wood. The mushrooms can remain dry for decades and then revived with moisture.

It has 23,328 distinct mating types. Individuals of any mating type are compatible for mating with most other mating types. There are two genetic loci determining the mating type, locus A with 288 alleles and locus B with 81 alleles. A pair of fungi will only be fertile if they have different A and different B alleles; that is, each mating type can enter fertile pairings with 22,960 others.