It is a terrestrial orchid with a tough upright, stem and stiffly spreading, elliptic to egg-shaped leaves.

The flowers are white with a yellow labellum.Bromheadia finlaysoniana is a terrestrial, evergreen herb with flattened yellowish stems 1–1.5 m (3–5 ft) long with tough, stiffly spreading elliptic to egg-shaped leaves 100–150 mm (4–6 in) long and 20–30 mm (0.8–1 in) wide.

[2][4] The pale reed orchid was first formally described in 1833 by John Lindley who gave it the name Grammatophyllum finlaysonianum and published the description in his book The genera and species of Orchidaceous plants.

[6][7] Bromheadia finlaysoniana has a wide distribution that includes Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, the Malay Peninsula, Singapore, Sumatra, Borneo, Brunei, the Moluccas, New Guinea, the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, the Anambas Islands and possibly the Philippines, although it's uncertain whether the specimens referred to the Philippines were actually collected there.

[2][9] In Queensland, B. finlaysoniana grows from the top of the Cape York Peninsula in the north to Hopevale in the south.