[2] Elias Magnus Fries transferred it to the genus Xylographa in 1849.

[1] The lichen forms narrow, ellipsoid ascomata (called lirellae) that measure 0.45–1.14 by 0.09–0.23 mm.

The ascospores number eight per ascus, and are ellipsoid, usually measuring 11.3–14.5 by 5.9–7.6 μm.

[1] Xylographa pallens is a lookalike species that is almost identical to X. parallela in both macroscopic and microscopic characteristics.

It can be distinguished from the latter species by its growth habit: it develops ascomata in clusters with multiple leading tips that grow outward from a central point, and it has much ascoma-free space between each cluster.