It is a mycoheterotrophic herb that spends most of its life under the soil surface, its flowers only sometimes appearing a few millimetres about ground level.

Flowering occurs in October and November with the heads maturing below the soil surface or up to 20 mm (0.79 in) above ground level.

[2][3][4][5] The eastern underground orchid was first formally described in 1932 by Herman Rupp and given the name Cryptanthemis slateri in Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales from specimens collected near Bulahdelah in 1931.

[8] The specific epithet (slateri) honours Ernest William Slater who discovered the species.

The Bulahdelah population in the Great Lakes Local Government Area is listed as "endangered".