It was described as new to science in 2003 by lichenologists Li-Song Wang and Hiroshi Harada.

It is found in the Hengduan Mountains of southern China, where it grows on twigs and branches in coniferous forests at elevations of 3,000–4,000 metres (9,800–13,100 ft).

[1] The Hengduan Mountains is a region of high Bryoria biodiversity, as 24 species are known from this area.

It is black in parts near its base, and pale brown near the tips.

The lichen has linear pseudocyphellae (with a depressed or fissured surface indentation) that twist into long spirals.