Niebla homaleoides is characterized by a rigid thallus divided into sub[terete] mostly strap-shaped branches spreading from a holdfast, to 8 cm high, and by the absence of lichen substances except usnic acid and an unknown suspected to be a scabrosin derivative.

[1] Pycnidia[2][3] are prominent on the upper parts of branches, and appear to be among the largest in the genus, but comparative measurements are not available for all species of Niebla.

[1] Scabrosin esters isolated from the lichen Xanthoparmelia scabrosa have shown activity against human tumor cell lines at nanomolar concentrations.

[4] Niebla homaleoides was discovered by Richard Spjut, accompanied by Richard Marin and Thomas McCloud, on 19 May 1986 just south of Punta Negra on rock outcrops on a ridge that appeared to receive more precipitation from ocean fog than other nearby areas (Plate 1D in Spjut’s 1996 revision of Niebla and Vermilacinia).

[1] This particular ridge was observed during May 1985 by Spjut—while he and Marin were collecting samples of lichens in search of new drugs to treat HIV—to have fog lingering around the peaks most of the day.