P. discordans, P. ernstiae, P. hygrophila, P. imbricaria, P. mayi, P. omphalodes, P. pinnatifida, P. serrana, P. submontana, P. sulymae, and P. rojoi are other members of this complex.

[8] The lichen has a greenish-gray to bluish-gray thallus that can turn brown in exposed locations.

Parmelia saxatilis is used to make dyes with deep red-brown and rusty-orange colors.

[9][10] A somewhat similar species complex with a cosmopolitan distribution is the Parmelia sulcata group, generally growing on trees.

Because the lichen is common, abundant, and widely distributed with a stable population size, it is considered of least concern.