[1] Found in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of China, it forms delicate cushions on mossy rocks in subalpine regions.

The type specimen was collected by the first author from Jiaozixue Mountain, Luquan County, Yunnan, at an altitude of 4,200 m (13,800 ft), where it was found growing among subalpine Rhododendron and Juniperus scrub.

[2] Hypogymnia saxicola is similar in appearance to H. irregularis and H. vittata, but can be distinguished by its more fragile texture, dark brown lobe tips, and absence of pycnidia and apothecia.

Additionally, H. saxicola can be differentiated from these species by its unique chemistry, as it lacks the P+ chemical reaction and nodulose (alternating pinched and swollen) lobes found in H. duplicata.

Hypogymnia saxicola is found on mossy boulders and outcrops in Rhododendron-Juniperus shrubland and open slopes with dwarf bamboo.