Niebla podetiaforma is a fruticose lichen that grows frequently on small stones in fog regions along the Pacific Coast of Baja California from San Vicente Canyon to Morro Santo Domingo.

[1] The epithet, podetiaforma is in reference to a primary inflated branch of the thallus that resembles a podetium,[2] a common feature in the lichen genus Cladonia.

Rare thalli have a flattened appearance as if someone had stepped on them, but can be identified N. podetiaforma by the fine reticulate pattern of cortical ridges.

[1] Niebla podetiaforma was recognized by Richard Spjut as a distinct species from Niebla homalea based on samples that he and Richard Marin had collected for anti-HIV screening in Baja California, 29 April 1985,(Spjut & Marin 9077),[4] about 35 miles north Guerrero Negro on ridges and leeward slopes above San Andrés Ranch.

[1] A sample of approximately 100 grams of N. podetiaforma was to be sent to the National Cancer Institute, Natural Products Branch for their drug screening program in the search for new compounds to treat HIV and cancer; but instead the collected thalli were used as exsiccati that were distributed 11 years later to other institutions through the ABLS Lichen Exchange[5] The species was described in 1996.