Their slightly scented flowers are produced on pole-like growths that extend upwards from 1 to 4 meters high and take up to 4 months to develop.

[1][2] The name Myrmecophila is a derivative of the word myrmecophile and refers to the symbiotic relationship with colonies of ants that are usually found living in the large, hollowed-out, banana-like pseudobulbs.

An opening in the base of each pseudobulb serves as an entrance for the ants which harvest nectar from the peduncles and flowers and forage on other plants in the community.

Myrmecophila tibicinis directly utilizes minerals of the organic debris ("garbage dumps") deposited by the ants inside the hollow pseudobulbs.

Myrmecophila tibicinis can grow quite well in the absence of ants, though it is quite rare to find an uninhabited plant.