[4] It is a herbaceous plant with a terrestrial habit (it grows on the ground, not on trees), generally on rocks, being very variable, with long and fleshy aerial roots that come out of the stems.

[5] Like other members of subgenus Amphiglottium, it is a sympodial orchid which grows stems which do not swell into pseudobulbs and are covered with imbricating sheaths, produces a terminal inflorescence covered at its base by close imbricating sheaths, and produces a lip adnate to the column to its apex.

The lip of E. radicans is trilobate, as with the other members of section Schistochila, with the lacerate lobes which are typical of the subsections Carinata and Tuberculata.

[5] Additionally, E. radicans flowers are resupinate, unlike the members of the Epidendrum secundum complex, E. fulgens, and many other crucifix orchids.

It thrives in temperatures between 10° and 27°C (50° and 80°F) and in USDA hardiness zone 10–12, under full sun or partial shade in loamy, sandy, well-drained soil.

In summers, two hours of direct sunlight may scorch and dehydrate the plant, though the soil must not remain soggy or hold water.

Though generally, the plant is rarely bothered by pests or diseases, as it can adapt to a wide range of conditions compared to other orchid species.

[8] It is a crucifix orchid, often confused with many other members of the section Schistochila, including E. calanthe, E. cinnabarinum, E. denticulatum, E. erectum, E. fulgens, E. ibaguense, E. imatophyllum, E. incisum, E. schomburgkii, E. secundum, and E. xanthinum, among others.