Mosquito orchids are terrestrial herbs with a single, heart-shaped, usually ground-hugging leaf and one to many small, green, pinkish or purplish flowers on a fleshy stalk.

Orchids in the genus Acianthus are terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, sympodial herbs with a single egg-shaped, heart-shaped or lobed leaf at the base.

These orchids spend the dry, summer months dormant until, following late-summer or autumn rains, the leaf appears.

The flowers are held on an upright, narrow but fleshy stalk, blend in with their surrounding and often resemble mosquitoes.

The lateral sepals project forward beneath the labellum and the petals spread widely or curve backwards against the ovary.

They sometimes form dense vegetative colonies, in sheltered forest or heathland, and are often found underneath shrubs and bracken.