Because of its thin, wiry stem and small, dull-coloured flowers, this orchid is difficult to locate.

[2][3][4][5] The common elbow orchid was first formally described in 1889 by Ferdinand von Mueller and given the name Drakaea huntiana.

The description was published in The Victorian Naturalist from a specimen collected "between loose stones on Mount Tingiringi".

[13][14] The two subspecies of Arthrochilus huntianus differ from other orchids in the genus by being leafless and having the labellum dangling with an insect-like "lure" on the end.

nothofagicola, as Thynninorchis nothofagicola, is classified as "critically endangered" under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and as "endangered" under the Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act 1995.

[2][3][4][5] As with other Arthrochilus orchids, A. huntianus is pollinated by males thynnid wasps of the genus Arthrothynnus although the species involved is not known.