Byrsella (ber-SELL-ah) is distinguished by coarse, caespitose plants with thickly coriaceous leaves borne by shorter, stout ramicauls and a single-flowered peduncle round in cross section. The sepals are usually thick, fleshy and variously form a cup or tube, often verrucose within. The ovary is smooth. The petals are like cartilage without a prominent descending process but the part closest to the lip is often obtusely angled. The lip is thick, more or less oblong and undivided by lateral folds with a verrucose tip (with rare exceptions). Species in this genus used to be a part of Masdevallia section Coriaceae.

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