[2] The holotype was collected in Coquimbo, north Chile in 1838 by the French naturalist Claude Gay.

The species epithet perturbans (Latin for "confusing" or "misleading") refers to the long-standing mistaken identity of its ascomata (fruiting bodies) with the true fructifications of its host lichen.

Unlike many related species, O. perturbans has strongly projecting ascomata with a deeply ridged excipular base.

The species has a commensalistic relationship with its host, causing no significant damage to the lichen's structure or chemistry.

This species is of particular interest to lichenologists as it was initially misidentified as the fruiting bodies of I. pulcherrima itself, leading to a century-long misconception about the reproductive structures of its host genus.