The genus name Tuckermannopsis honours Edward Tuckerman (1817–1886), who was an American botanist and professor who made significant contributions to the study of lichens and other alpine plants.

[2] The type species is a cetrarioid lichen, meaning it is erect, foliose, and with apothecia and pycnidia (sexual and asexual reproductive structures, respectively) that are largely restricted to the margins of the lobes.

[3] In 2001, Ingvar Kärnefelt and Arne Thell attempted to delimit Tuckermannopsis based on a combination of morphology and molecular phylogeny, although the DNA of only four species was used in the analysis.

[6] Characteristic of genus Tuckermannopsis include a thallus that is either foliose (leafy) or somewhat fruticose (shrubby) with an upper surface that is brown or greenish in colour; cylindrical asci with a small tholus (a thickened apical region) and broad axial body; ascospores that are more or less spherical, measuring 4–8 μm in diameter; the absence of the secondary metabolite usnic acid in the cortex, and the presence of various compounds in the medulla.

Hale (1987)[7] have been moved to genus Tuckermanella, created in 2003 to contain cetrarioid lichens previously placed in the "Cetraria fendleri" species group.