Distinctive features of N. pulchella include its bluish-green squamules (scales) with sharply raised margins, non-reactivity to standard chemical spot tests, and growth in humid habitats.

First named and scientifically described by the English botanist William Borrer in 1831, the clarification of Normandina pulchella's place within the Verrucariaceae, facilitated by molecular phylogenetics analysis in 2010, resolved long-standing taxonomic uncertainties.

Prior classifications had varied widely, placing N. pulchella within groups such as the Basidiomycota (i.e., as a basidiolichen) and Fungi incertae sedis, largely due to differing interpretations of the perithecia (fruiting bodies) found within the lichen.

[4] He observed the lichen to be characterised by thin, membranous, greenish-grey, leaf-like scales, with these features transitioning from smooth, rounded forms to crowded, waved, and lobed configurations, whilst adorned with powdery granules.

He noted the lichen's frequent occurrence on mossy trees in Sussex, and that it thrived on the leafy liverwort species Jungermannia dilatata, forming wide but often interrupted patches.

Ellen Hutchins was credited by Borrer for initially discovering the species on a mountain near Bantry (Ireland), growing on Lichen plumbeus on heath stems.

Prior to molecular studies, researchers proposed various classifications, including placement within the Basidiomycota due to morphological similarities with certain basidiolichens, particularly Coriscium viride, associated with the basidiomycete Lichenomphalia hudsoniana.

[8] This cytological evidence, along with the 2010 molecular phylogenetics analysis by Lucia Muggia and colleagues, conclusively established N. pulchella's position within the family Verrucariaceae.

The upper surface of these lobes features concentric ridges, while the edges are sharply defined and raised, typically spanning 50–100 micrometres (μm) in width.

The underside of the lichen presents a whitish, slightly felted (tomentose) appearance and adheres to its substrate through numerous fungal strands, or hyphae.

[11] Its spore-producing structures, or ascomata, appear as semi-immersed globular to slightly conical perithecia with moderate orange-brown pigmentation in the wall of textura angularis.

However, they can be distinguished by their lack of soralia, the presence of both upper and lower cortices, and adaptation to arctic-alpine environments, typically growing on peaty soil or decaying wood.

In contrast, N. pulchella tends to develop more pronounced soralia in shaded, humid settings, diverging from the preferred habitats of Lichenomphalina hudsoniana.

[18] In contrast, William Louis Culberson and Mason Hale's 1966 analysis of its North American presence noted its prevalence in the mountainous western regions and the Appalachian foothills, without indicating an oceanic distribution pattern.

[21] Ecologically, Normandina pulchella favours moss-covered deciduous trees and rocks within woodlands and parks, often colonising over mosses, bryophytes, and occasionally bare bark.

Additionally, Tremella normandinae is noted for producing pale, swollen growths, referred to as galls, indicative of its parasitic relationship with the lichen.

Described in 2017 as part of the family Corticiaceae, it differs from typical lichenicolous fungi by leaving no visible signs of its presence, being detectable only through molecular methods.