Peristylus banfieldii is a tuberous, perennial herb with between four and six leaves with wavy margins at its base.

[2] The yellow ogre orchid was first formally described in 1906 by Frederick Manson Bailey from a specimen collected on Dunk Island by Edmund James Banfield and given the name Habenaria banfieldii.

[4] The specific epithet (banfieldii) honours the collector of the type specimen.

Peristylus banfieldii grows in moist places in open forest and on rainforest margins.

It is found on Dunk Island, and near Mareeba and Cardwell.