It was first described and named by renowned Canadian lichenologist Irwin Brodo from a population on Haida Gwaii (for a brief time known as the Queen Charlotte Islands) in 1973.

[1] The thallus (the main body of the lichen) is thick, rough and crusty, taking on the appearance of dry, cracked mud.

Paraphyses (microscopic structures) are long, unbranched, and slender, and can be found lining pores in the hymenial cavity through which spores escape.

Pycnidia are located along the summits of long wart-like projections on the surface of the lichen, and are pale red-brown fruiting bodies lined with non-motile spores.

The soil formed is then trapped by the lichen and over time, enough accumulates to allow for the growth of additional flora and fauna on these originally bare rock surfaces.

Although many northern lichen species are an important winter food source for many animals, grazers do not appear to consume Coccotrema maritimum.