Xanthoparmelia simulans is a species of terricolous (ground-dwelling), foliose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae. Found in Southern Africa, it was formally described as a new species in 1986 by the American lichenologist Mason Hale. The type specimen was collected by Hale in the Swartberg mountains, northwest of Cango Caves at an elevation of . The lichen thallus, which is loosely attached to its soil , is bright yellowish green and measures broad. It contains several lichen products: stictic, constictic, cryptostictic, usnic, and trace amounts of norstictic acid.