Ericksonella saccharata is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, sympodial herb with a roughly spherical, white, fleshy tuber surrounded in its upper half by a fibrous sheath.

The leaf is pale yellowish green on both sides, hairy, 4–8 cm (2–3 in) long, 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) wide and usually has irregular reddish-purple blotched near the base.

[2][3][4] Sugar orchid was first formally described in 1871 by Heinrich Gustav Reichenbach who gave it the name Caladenia saccharata in Beitrage zur Systematischen Pflanzenkunde.

[2][7] The specific epithet (saccharata) is derived from the Latin word saccharum meaning "sugary", referring to the shiny-white granular appearance of the flowers.

[4] Ericksonella saccharata grows in a range of soils and habitats including sand and clay loam, in shrubland near salt lakes, woodland and sheoak thickets around granite outcrops.