[3] The genus Relicinopsis, proposed by Australian lichenologists John Elix and Doug Verdon in 1986 as a segregate of Pseudoparmelia,[4] was shown to be nested within Relicina in a 2017 molecular phylogenetics study.

On the underside, the color ranges from pale brown to black, and it bears simple or branched, root-like structures (rhizines) that extend to the edges, helping secure the lichen to its substrate.

The thallus-like margin is smooth or slightly scalloped and is often fringed with cilia at its base; in some cases, this edge appears almost crown-like due to the influence of swollen and bulbous pycnidia.

[6] Inside the apothecia, delicate filament-like cells called paraphyses are present; these are about 2–3 μm thick, mostly straight, and only lightly branched, with their tips being brown, rounded, and slightly expanded.

Each ascus features a well-developed, iodine-reactive (amyloid) zone known as the tholus that is pierced by a narrow, non-reactive central strand with parallel sides; there is no distinct ocular chamber.