It was first formally described in 1909 by the French lichenologist Maurice Bouly de Lesdain (in a publication of Alexander Zahlbruckner), who described it as a variety of Caloplaca citrina.

[3] Later, he considered the taxon worthy of more distinct status and published it as the species Caloplaca maritima.

[4] Ulf Arup and colleagues transferred the taxon to the genus Flavoplaca in 2013, following a molecular phylogenetics-based restructuring of the family Teloschistaceae.

It often forms extensive patches, characterised by a cracked-areolate surface, which means the thallus is broken into flat, uneven, knobbly sections called areoles.

[6] Flavoplaca maritima grows on sun-exposed siliceous rocks, sometimes on calcareous walls, and rarely on wood.