It has a single smooth leaf and is distinguished by its flattened labellum with calli only near its tip and by its relatively early flowering period.

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

The type specimen was collected near York and description was published in Australian Systematic Botany.

[1][6] The specific epithet (triens) is a Latin word meaning "third",[7] referring to there being calli only one-third of the outer part of the labellum.

[4] Caleana triens grows in forest, woodland or shrubland in sandy soil between York and Esperance in the Avon Wheatbelt, Jarrah Forest and Mallee biogeographic regions.