It is part of the monophyletic Caloplaca cerina species group and is the type species of the genus Caloplaca.

[1] Caloplaca cerina has a crustose thallus, typically dark grey to white.

[1] It has a thalline margin, although this is sometimes thin and difficult to note.

[2] However its appearance can be very variable; as a result, many specimens that have been identified as Caloplaca cerina are actually other species.

One study that examined 3,000 specimens of Caloplaca cerina found that roughly 1,000 were other species.