It has a single, hairy leaf and up to three lemon-yellow flowers with brownish-fawn spots on some parts.

It differs from subspecies sylvestris which has pale yellow sepals and petals which are white towards their tips and have a central line of prominent bright red or pink spots forming a line along the dorsal sepal.

[1] The specific epithet (maculata) is a Latin word meaning "spotted"[7] referring to the irregular blotching on the dorsal sepal and petals.

[3] Kalbarri cowslip orchid grows in a range of habitats from granite outcrops to depressions which fill with water in winter.

maculata is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.