It was first scientifically described by Finnish lichenologist Edvard Vainio in 1921, as Parmelia osseoalba.

[2] Yun Sil Park and Mason Hale transferred it to the genus Hypotrachyna in 1989.

[4] When Hale was later working on a monograph of genus Xanthoparmelia, he studied the type material of Vainio's Parmelia osseoalba, and determined that it was identical both chemically and morphologically to Hypotrachyna formosana.

[1] In North America, Hypotrachyna osseoalba is commonly known as the "grainy loop lichen".

[1] Hypotrachyna osseoalba occurs in subtropical and temperate areas of Asia (South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand) Australia, Africa, Central America, South America, and the eastern United States.