The species was originally found growing on larch and fir in Hungary and Italy and was described in 1900 by Italian mycologist Giacomo Bresadola.

[1] Exidia umbrinella forms yellowish to reddish brown, gelatinous fruit bodies that are button-shaped at first, becoming more pendulous with age, and around 2.5 cm (1 in) across.

Fruit bodies of E. saccharina are similarly coloured and occur on conifers, but typically coalesce to form large, irregular clumps.

Exidia umbrinella is a wood-rotting species, typically found on dead attached twigs and branches.

It has been recorded from Andorra,[3] Austria,[4] France,[5] Germany,[6] Hungary,[1] Italy,[1] Liechtenstein,[7] North Macedonia,[2] Poland,[8] and Ukraine.