Katydids in this genus have an elongated head with ovoid eyes. The ovipositor is medium-sized, slightly crenulated, curving upwards, and one fifth of the length of the posterior femur.[2] They are found in the understory rather than in the canopy in contrast with other members of the subfamily Phaneropterinae.[2][3]
The group was originally named in 1859 by Swiss entomologist Henri Louis Frédéric de Saussure as a subgenus of Phylloptera.[4] It was erected as a separate genus in 1869 by British entomologist Francis Walker.[5] It is in the tribe Amblycoryphini within the subfamily Phaneropterinae.[1] The type species is Orophus mexicanus (originally Phylloptera mexicana).[1] Other genera with species previously placed in Orophus include Eurycorypha and Microcentrum.[2][6]
Species in this group are quite variable in their coloration and the density of the spots on the forewings, ranging from light to dark green, yellow, pink, or brown.