Lepraria lanata was described by the Norwegian lichenologist Tor Tønsberg in 2007, with the type specimen collected from a schistose rock wall in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Tennessee).

The species epithet lanata, from the Latin word for "woolly", refers to the appearance of the consoredia, which resemble balls of wool.

[3] This species is distinguished by its unique woolly appearance, where all soredia (reproductive propagules) are aggregated into distinctive clusters called consoredia, reaching up to 1 mm in size.

These consoredia are surrounded by a characteristic loose network of branching and interconnecting fungal threads (hyphae), which, while forming an extensive mesh, typically do not project outward.

Lepraria lanata is known only from montane regions of eastern United States,[4] at elevations ranging from 1,120 to 1,990 m (3,670 to 6,530 ft).