It grows in harsh environments in disjunct populations between Kalbarri and Southern Cross and has the smallest flowers of its genus in Western Australia.

The entire upper surface of the labellum is covered with glands or calli and those nearer the tip are darker.

[3][4] The midget duck orchid was first formally described in 2006 by Stephen Hopper and Andrew Brown who gave it the name Paracaleana lyonsii.

[3][4] Caleana lyonsii grows in harsh environments including a sand ridge near Paynes Find.

It occurs in disjunct populations north of Kalbarri, near Koolyanobbing and near Southern Cross in the Coolgardie, Geraldton Sandplains and Yalgoo biogeographic regions.