O. maritima was first described as a subspecies by Pacifico and Soca from Montignoso, Tuscany in 2011 and subsequently promoted to a full species in 2015. Its name refers to the taxons seeming preference for coastal habitats.

It is an Italian endemic with as far as is known, a limited distribution along the coasts of Liguria and Tuscany where it commonly encounters four other similar species O. tarquinia, O. classica,  O. minipassionis and O. argentaria. None of these species possess truly unique characteristics that can be relied upon to enable a guaranteed identification and the combination of innate natural variation and years of introgression which have created populations of indeterminate intermediate plants, only serve to further complicate the process. Their has also been a rash of newly described species throughout peninsular Italy without as yet, a full understanding of their distribution perameters.

O. maritima first appears in mid March and is a robust plant which can grow to 40cms and carry a lax inflorescence of four to six large flowers. The lip is undivided, lacking in discernible basal swellings and normally exhibits a yellow or orange wavy edged margin. An almost complete band of sometimes course hair surrounds the lip but is most dense around the shoulders. The petals can be up to two thirds the length of the sepals.

The pictures come from the coast south of Livorno and date from the first week of April. The final two pictures feature plants that were untypical and suspected of being hybrids with O. garganica.