[1] Discovered in 2012 in Mexico's Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, it grows in small green patches on clay banks in high-altitude pine forests.

Its most distinctive features are its club-shaped reproductive structures, which are pale yellow to orange-brown with cream-colored tips, and its scale-like body parts that have white, raised edges.

Below the surface, thread-like fungal structures called rhizohyphae extend 1–4 mm beneath the squamules, helping to anchor the lichen.

[2] One of the most characteristic features of L. vilgalysii is its inverted structure, where the algal partner (photobiont) forms a dense layer at the base of the thallus rather than near the top as in most lichens.

The photobiont consists of green algal cells that are mostly ellipsoid in shape, measuring 8–13 by 5–8 micrometers (μm), each containing a central or near-central pyrenoid (a protein-containing body involved in carbon fixation).

These algal cells form columns that project upward through the fungal tissue, creating the spotted pattern visible on the surface.

While this inverted structure is typically interpreted as an adaptation to dry conditions in other lichen species, researchers note that this explanation may not fully account for its presence in L. vilgalysii and its close relative L. calocerum, suggesting other ecological factors may be involved.

[4] The species appears to share habitat preferences with some of its relatives, favoring clay soils in exposed, seasonally moist environments.