It is a Gram-positive, motile, facultatively anaerobic, non-spore-forming bacillus.

The species was first isolated from Finger Lakes National Forest in New York.

It is named after Elmer H. Marth, a researcher of L. monocytogenes, and was first published in 2010.

[1] Listeria marthii has mainly been isolated from a specific area in the Finger Lakes National Forest.

However, L. marthii strains may be mischaracterized as L. innocua due to biochemical similarities between the two species.