It has a single, hairy leaf and one or two greenish-yellow flowers with red markings which have a labellum which vibrates in the slightest breeze.

One or two greenish-yellow flowers with red markings are borne on a hairy spike 300–500 mm (10–20 in).

Its sides spread widely or turn upwards and have many erect to spreading teeth up to 12 mm (0.5 in) long and there are six or eight rows of red calli clustered in the centre of the labellum.

[3][6] The butterfly orchid usually grows in dense, shrubby forest in well-drained grey sand, gravelly or clayey loam, or laterite, frequently on flats and slopes near streams.

[2] It is found between Bunbury and the Stirling Range in the Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest and Swan Coastal Plain biogeographical regions of Western Australia.