[1] In 2013, Anders Tehler proposed the form Dirina catalinariae f. sorediata from specimens collected in Mexico,[2] but this taxon is no longer considered to have independent taxonomic significance.

[3] The lichen has a creamy white to greyish crustose thallus with a roughened surface texture that at times is nearly squamulose or somewhat fruticose.

Soralia and ascomata often appear side-by-side on the thallus; it is the only member of Dirina in which sexual (fertile) and asexual (sterile) morphs are not differentiated into separate species.

The expected results of chemical spot tests are C+ (red) on the surface of the thallus, the medulla, and the disc.

Lichen products that occur in the species include erythrin, lecanoric acid, and some unidentified substances.