Helmet orchid are small, perennial, deciduous herbs and are nearly always terrestrial. They have an underground tuber which is more or less spherical and fleshy. New tubers form at the end of root-like stolons. There is a single, heart-shaped, kidney-shaped or almost round leaf, usually at ground level and a short erect stem with a single flower at the top. The flower has a short stalk with a small, leaf-like bract at its base. The flower is resupinate, dull-coloured and resembles the fruiting body of a fungus.The fruit that follows flowering is a non-fleshy, dehiscent capsule containing up to 500 seeds. Helmet orchid is a genus of about 120 species. Species of helmet orchid are found in Asia, Oceania, many Pacific islands and a few sub-Antarctic islands.