It has a squamulose (scaley) thallus that lacks soredia and isidia (vegetative propagules), but has abundant apothecia (spore-bearing structures) with distinct white rims.

Although its main centres of distribution are eastern North America and southeast Asia, where it grows in damp forests, it has been reported from various other high-altitude, humid locations.

[6] Fuscopannaria rugosa, described from China in 2016, differs from F. leucosticta in its foliose-squamulose thallus, longitudinally wrinkled upper surface, and highly convex discs.

[7] The similarly named Fuscopannaria leucostictoides, found on the west coast of northern North America, is grayer in colour, does not have pointed spores, and contains atranorin.

[5] Fuscopannaria leucosticta used to be widely distributed in temperate eastern North America, but its range has declined due to habitat destruction and reduction.

A MaxEnt (Maximum Entropy, a machine learning algorithm used for predicting the distribution of species or other phenomena based on environmental variables) distribution model incorporating various environmental variables, including cedar presence and lack of human-induced disturbance, predicted high probability areas, and subsequent field verifications revealed 13 previously unsurveyed locations with high probability of occurrence,[9] which can help guide future conservation efforts for the management of rare and at-risk species.

[13] In 2007, Fuscopannaria leucosticta was reported from Ecuador, which the authors noted as "remarkable" due to the lack of any known collections in intermediate areas; they suggested it may be an example of a long-distance dispersal, or a relict species.