The lichen is found in the subtropical evergreen forests of the Eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats of India, where it grows on rough tree bark in close association with plant-dwelling bryophytes at elevations above 2,000 m (6,600 ft).

[2] The lichen is similar to the New Zealand species Phlyctis megalospora but can be distinguished by its smaller ascospores with fewer septa and the absence of atranorin and protocetraric acid.

Phlyctis chilensis, a relatively rare and localised species found in the cool temperate regions of South America, shares similarities with the new taxon in having single-spored asci.

Phlyctis subagelaea, an Indian species with muriform characteristics, also possesses single-spored asci and a whitish-grey ecorticate thallus.

[5] It typically grows on rough tree bark in close association with epiphytic (plant-dwelling) bryophytes at elevations above 2,000 m (6,600 ft).