Found predominantly in Australasia, its habitats range from the Australian Capital Territory to New Zealand's North and South Islands, and even the Pacific region of New Caledonia, where it grows in coastal and alpine heathlands.

The lichen was first scientifically collected by the French biologist Jacques Labillardière on board Bruni d'Entrecasteaux's 1792 expedition.

The term rete translates to "net", and the correct connecting vowel in such compounds is "i", making retiporus the appropriate spelling.

[3] Nylander proposed the genus Cladia in 1870 to contain three Cladonia species based on their shared trait of having a cortex made of conglutinate (stuck together), longitudinally aligned filaments.

[13] Like most species in the family Cladoniaceae, Pulchrocladia retipora has a cladoniiform growth form, meaning it has both a primary (horizontal) and secondary (vertical) thallus.

The primary thallus is nodular (i.e. with small raised areas or swellings), white, and only lasts for a short period.

The podetia are typically up to 5 cm (2 in) tall, white to pale grey in colour, sometimes tinged pinkish or yellowing or superficially blackening at tips.

The conidiomata end on branchlets, and are covered with translucent slime; they produce curved or straight conidia measuring 6 by 1 μm.

[11] Usnic acid is thought to be responsible for the antimicrobial, antiviral and cytotoxic biological activity of Pulchrocladia retipora lichen extracts tested in in vitro experiments.

[17] The hue of P. retipora is determined by the concentration of usnic acid in the thallus, leading to a colour spectrum that ranges from an opaque greyish-white through yellowish-white to a distinct yellow.

It is found on peaty soils among tussocks or in heaths comprising Dracophyllum and Leptospermum, most often at the margins of Nothofagus forests, in fellfield, or rarely on surfaces such as rocks, logs, and sand dunes.

[12] In the moorlands of the Meredith Range area in Tasmania, it thrives in well-drained, elevated locations, especially close to decomposing buttongrass hummocks.

The unique morphology of the lichen helps it to survive the exposed heaths it inhabits, as the coral structure increases gas exchange, moderates temperature extremes, and maximises light and water access.

Lichen cushions about the size of a football have been observed growing on the mountain range in Australia's Grampians National Park.

[16] Rosmarie Honegger referred to the thallus of this species as "likely to be among the most complex vegetative structures ever produced in the fungal kingdom".

[23] Understanding the branching pattern of Pulchrocladia retipora is important for comprehending its unique developmental biology, and some studies have focused on this aspect.

[24] The Pulchrocladia retipora lichen thallus has been successfully resynthesized from isolated mycobiont and photobiont under laboratory conditions.

After four months, the cultures form small scales that are the starting units for the development of the complex hyphal network that becomes the thallus.