It grows in a montane and subalpine grassland and forest in Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory.

Genoplesium arrectum is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and a single thin leaf 100–180 mm (4–7 in) long and fused to the flowering stem with the free part 10–15 mm (0.4–0.6 in) long.

[3][4] Genoplesium arrectum was first formally described in 1991 by David Jones from a specimen collected near Omeo and the description was published in Australian Orchid Research.

[6] The specific epithet (arrecta) is a Latin word meaning "upright",[7] referring to the stiffly erect lateral sepals.

[5] Genoplesium arrectum grows in grassland and grassy forest at altitudes above 900 m (3,000 ft) in north-eastern Victoria and in the Australian Capital Territory.