The type specimen was collected by Vitikainen from Juuma (Kuusamo, Finland) at an elevation of 180 m (590 ft), where it was found growing on the ground among mosses.

The thallus underside features thick, pale, tomentose veins, with white and pit-like interstices.

The rhizines (root-like attachment structures) are dark brown to black and up to about 7 long; they are typically either unbranched or grouped in bundles.

The lichen is more common in northern North America, with a range extending from subarctic regions (Alaska, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories, and including several western Canadian provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba.

Associated mosses include Pleurozium schreberi, Hylocomium sklendens, Ptilium crista-castrensis, and species of Dicranum.