For most of the year, it lies dormant and has no above-ground presence; its tubers grow fleshy roots and form shoots consisting of leaf-like, sharply pointed, overlapping bracts, sometimes protruding above the ground, from which inflorescences emerge.

There are two diverging linear, hairy keels near the base of the labellum and a band of mauve hairs about 1 mm (0.04 in) long along its midline.

[3] Dipodium variegatum was first formally described in 1987 by Australian botanists Mark Clements and David Jones and the description was published in Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland.

[7] The orchid has been observed to occur in close proximity to Eucalyptus species and it is thought that a relationship exists with these trees through this mycorrhizal association.

[9] No leafless species of Dipodium has been sustained in cultivation due to the inability to replicate its association with mycorrhizal fungi in a horticultural context.