 The name Botryobasidioideae was first introduced as a subfamily of the Corticiaceae in 1958 by Swedish mycologist John Eriksson, but was not fully described and validly published until taken up by Estonian mycologist Erast Parmasto in 1968.Parmasto placed the genera "Botryobasidium" (together with the anamorphic genus "Oidium") and "Uthatobasidium" within the subfamily, noting that they shared certain "primitive" characters linking them to the Ceratobasidiaceae and Tulasnellaceae.In 1982 Jülich raised the subfamily to the rank of family, as the Botryobasidiaceae, and placed it in a new order, the Botryobasidiales (which also included the family Botryohypochnaceae).