Diuris purdiei is a tuberous, perennial herb with between five and ten spirally twisted leaves in a tuft near its base.

[2][3][4] Diuris purdiei was first formally described in 1903 by Ludwig Diels from a specimen collected near Cannington, and the description was published in Journal and Proceedings of the Mueller Botanic Society of Western Australia.

[5][6] The specific epithet (purdiei) honours the New Zealand born academic, Alex Purdie who collected the type specimen.

[5][7] Purdie's donkey orchid grows in winter-wet swamps under dense shrubs and is found between Perth and Yarloop in the Jarrah Forest and Swan Coastal Plain biogeographic regions.

[8] The population of this orchid has been fragmented by urbanisation and the current threats to the species are habitat loss and weed invasion.