It has up to six crowded leaves with finely toothed and wavy edges and up to ten reddish brown flowers with a white, yellow-banded labellum.

The labellum is white with reddish and yellowish markings, about 4 mm (0.2 in) long and wide with three lobes.

[2][3] Sarcochilus serrulatus was first formally described in 1972 by David Jones and the description was published in The Victorian Naturalist.

[4][5] The specific epithet (serrulatus) is derived from the Latin word serra meaning "toothed like a saw".

[6] The banded butterfly orchid grows on trees in dense rainforest, usually near streams.