Little information is available about its life history, including its precise reproductive cycle, growth, population dynamics, or any seasonal changes it might experience.

[2] Furthermore, what constitutes one individual organism is not always apparent; one living lichen may be several centimeters long or just a tiny fragment.

[2] The species was first discovered in 1945 by George A. Llano on Eglin Air Force Base property on Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola.

[2][5] Natural processes such as hurricanes and fires are necessary for maintaining habitat such as Florida scrub, but these events do kill the lichen by burning it,[9] crushing it to small pieces, sweeping it away in storm surges, or burying it in sand.

[2][3] Lichen rescue operations are sometimes performed in the days after a hurricane in an effort to unbury individuals from sand and debris, and even pluck them out of trees where they have landed.

[2] Even if the lichen itself is undamaged in a storm, parts of its rare, limited potential habitat may be rendered unsuitable by disturbances.

The populations occur in North, Central, and South Florida, and can be separated by hundreds of miles; gene flow between them is often highly unlikely.