Plants in this genus are more or less leafless with a very short stem and roots that are often flat, green and photosynthetic.

Orchids in this genus are found in Africa, tropical and subtropical Asia, New Guinea, Australia and some Western Pacific Islands.

[4] Orchids in the genus Taeniophyllum are small epiphytic or lithophytic monopodial herbs, with the leaves reduced to tiny overlapping, brownish scales.

The sepals and petals are either free and spread widely apart from each other or joined near the base to form a tube.

[2][3][5][6] The genus Taeniophyllum was first formally described in 1825 by Carl Ludwig Blume who published the description in Bijdragen tot de Flora van Nederlandsch Indie.