Paul Tyerman said: "What I have is sold in nurseries as N.gracilis, but as far as I know it is actually northiana, but not entirely sure how different those species are." The petioles of N.northiana barely if at all exceed the enveloping bract; those of N.gracilis are several times as long as this bract. Similarly, the peduncles of N.gracilis are long and gracile, while those of N.northiana are short – barely long enough to move the inflorescence away from the scape.