Though Mushroom Coral is convex, similar to some mushrooms, yet it gets its name from the thin sheet-like plates radiating around its central mouth, which are reminiscent of the gills, i.e. the spore-bearing surface, on the underside of the cap of certain mushrooms.

It is a robust coral and lives mostly solitary, growing on reefs all over the Indo-Pacific Ocean. Whereas juveniles attach themselves to rock, larger individuals are said to detach themselves and become free living.