This greenhood is only known from a small area near Nowra.Pterostylis vernalis is a terrestrial, perennial, deciduous, herb with an underground tuber and when not flowering, a rosette of three to seven egg-shaped, dark green leaves 5–15 mm (0.2–0.6 in) long and 4–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in) wide.

The dorsal sepal and petals are fused, forming a hood or "galea" over the column.

[3][4] The spring tiny greenhood was first formally described in 2006 by David Jones who gave it the name Speculantha vernalis.

The description was published in The Orchadian from a specimen collected near Flat Rock Creek Reservoir near Nowra.

[6] Pterostylis vernalis usually grows in open sites in shallow, sandy soil near the edges of sandstone slabs, often with mosses and other small plants.