It was first described by Swedish lichenologist Erik Acharius in 1803 as Calicium xylonellum ß trabinellum.

The underside of the mazaedium is dusted with pruina, which contains the compound vulpinic acid that gives it its yellow colour.

The spores of Calicium trabinellum have roughly textured walls and measure 7–10 by 4–6 μm.

[2] The lichen is common on dead wood in boreal and hemiboreal forests.

In addition to Europe and North America, Calicium trabinellum has been recorded from Africa[5] and Asia.