The sepals, but not the petals, have red, reddish-black or yellow-green glandular tips 8–12 mm (0.3–0.5 in) long.

[2][4][3][5][6] Caladenia rigida was first formally described in 1930 by Richard Sanders Rogers and the description was published in Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden from a specimen collected near Golden Grove.

[7][6] The specific epithet (rigida) is a Latin word meaning "stiff", "rigid" or "inflexible".

[2][3][5] This orchid appears to attract pollinators both by sexual deception of thynnid wasps and by offering food rewards to other insect species.

The main threats to the species include grazing, especially by kangaroos and weed invasion.