Xanthoparmelia was originally conceived of as a section of the genus Parmelia by Brazilian lichenologist Edvard August Vainio in 1890, to accommodate yellow species with narrow lobes.

[4] Mason Hale considered that the combination of traits including the presence of the cortical pigment usnic acid, and the microscopic structure of the upper cortex were sufficient criteria to segregate Xanthoparmelia from the genus Parmelia.

[6] Similarly, three south African genera, Almbornia, Namakwa, and Xanthomaculina, were synonymized with Xanthoparmelia after the limits of the genus were further explored and refined with molecular phylogenetics.

[10] Xanthoparmelia consists of lichens that has a thallus ranging from leaf-like (foliose) to almost crust-like (subcrustose) and occasionally almost shrub-like (subfruticose), typically forming large, flat patches that are either loosely or tightly attached to the substrate.

The lower surface of the thallus can range from pale ivory to various shades of yellow, tan, brown, or black, and is covered to varying extents with rhizines (root-like structures) that typically do not branch.