The type specimen was collected by Tønsberg in 2002 from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina), at an elevation of 650 m (2,130 ft).

There, in a mixed deciduous forest, it was found growing on the bark at the base of a tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) trunk.

The upper surface of the thallus is pale gray-blue and covered with spider web-like hairs, especially towards the ends of the lobes, while the center is more or less smooth and can be slightly wrinkled.

The lower surface features scattered, branched rhizohyphae (root-like structures), which range in color from white to dark bluish.

The photobiont (photosynthetic partner) is Scytonema, a type of cyanobacterium, which forms short chains with individual cells measuring 7–10 μm.