This lichen was growing on a moss-covered rock, in open grassland, a fairly typical habitat for this species. The conspicuous reddish-brown discs at the tips of its lobes are the apothecia (spore-producing structures); these discs are taller than they are wide, a feature that helps identify the species.

P. hymenina and the similar P. membranacea are "among the commonest large foliose [i.e. leafy] lichens likely to be found in grass in open damp meadows or by roadsides" [Frank S. Dobson, "Lichens: An Illustrated Guide to the British and Irish Species", 5th ed., 2000].