There are about fifty species native to areas from Sri Lanka and Malesia to the Western Pacific.

Orchids in the genus Octarrhena are small epiphytic, lithophytic or terrestrial herbs with thin roots and short stems with short, thick, fleshy leaves, their bases sheathing the stem.

The labellum is small, unlobed, rigidly fixed to the column and lacks a spur.

[3][4][5] The genus Octarrhena was first formally described in 1861 by George Henry Kendrick Thwaites who published the description in Enumeratio plantarum Zeylaniae.

[4] The following is a list of species of Octarrhena recognised by the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families as at January 2019:[1] Orchids in the genus Octarrhena are found in Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Borneo, Java, Peninsular Malaysia, the Philippines, Sulawesi, Sumatra, the Bismarck Archipelago, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Queensland (Australia), Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and the Caroline Islands.