Plants creeping, to 12 cm. Stems: pseudobulbs spaced 3-4 cm, fusiform, somewhat flattened, slender, 20-40 × 3-8 mm. Leaves 2(-3, rarely), elliptic, 25-55 × 9-13 mm. Inflorescences racemes, sessile, 0.5 cm. Flowers 1-3, resupinate, successive, flowers and fruits may be present with capsules, light yellowish green to green or brownish green; sepals oblanceolate, apex acute; lateral sepals oblique, 5-6 × 2 mm; petals linear, 4 × less than 1 mm, apex acute; lip white with purple blotch on middle lobe, obreniform, middle lobe small, triangular, apex acute, lateral lobes suborbiculate, embracing column, 4 × 2 mm; anthers 1, orange; column white, 2 mm, apex 3-toothed. Capsules 1 cm.

Flowering Oct--Feb; fruiting Feb--May. In swamps, infrequent but individual plants form large patches; 0--30 m; Fla.; Mexico; West Indies; Central America; n South America.

In Florida, flowers of some plants of Prosthechea pygmaea have been reported to be cleistogamous (C. A. Luer 1972).