Rosette leaves 5–9 narrowly elliptical to ovate-lanceolate, 5–20 x 3–7mm. Flower stem 70–40 tall, 1– across, 1–10-flowered. Sterile bracts 2–5. Flowers porrect, widely spaced, hood transparent with prominent green or red-brown lines and bands, lateral sepals wholly red-brown or brown with paler lines and chequered markings. Dorsal sepal point porrect to upcurved, 3– long. Lateral sepals about as wide as hood, 5–8 x 5–8mm, flat to shallowly concave, margins flat, glabrous to densely hairy; free points deflexed or curved forwards, 5–1 long, parallel to divergent. Petals with well developed basal flanges that nearly meet, 9–13 x 2.5–3.5mm. Labellum elliptical, 4–4.8 x 1.5–2 mm, dark red-brown, flat or narrowly channelled, constricted near junction with basal lobe, margins hairy; basal lobe much narrower and thicker than lamina, with numerous prominent white hairs 8–2 long; marginal bristles 12–20, longest to c.3. long.
Widespread, growing in inland shrubland and mallee communities in well-drained red or yellow sand and sandy clay loam; also on granite outcrops and in crevices and soil pockets on outcrops of banded ironstone in very tough conditions.