It is a ground orchid with a single hairy leaf and one or two purple to mauve flowers.

Glossodia major is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herbaceous plant with an underground tuber.

At the base of the labellum there is a purple, cylinder-shaped appendage with two yellow, fleshy lobes on top.

[2][3][4][5] Glossodia major was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae.

[10] This orchid is found in a range of habitats from coastal heath to woodland and dry open forest.