Plants forming tangled clumps with new growth arising from the base. Stems cane-like, scrambling, branched, with aerial roots, leafy throughout, often forming aerial growths near apex (just below inflorescence). Leaves 60–100 × 10–20 mm, oblong to elliptic, fleshy, green or yellowish green. Raceme terminal, 200–400 mm long, with a long basal stalk, multiflowered. Flowers 20–30 mm across, resupinate, crowded in a terminal group (red or orange with a yellow blotch on labellum). Labellum projected forwards, crucifix-like with three fringed or lacerate lobes.
In its native state it clambers over adjacent shrubs, supported by its prodigious roots. It is a common roadside weed in tropical America and has also become naturalised in parts of Asia and Africa. Because of its clambering habit, this orchid needs the support of other vegetation.
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