Melicope christophersenii, a member of the Rutaceae (rue) family, is a shrub or tree 10 to 20 ft (3 to 6 m) tall, with hirtellous (hairy) branches and glabrate (somewhat smooth) petioles. The opposite leaves are coriaceous (leathery), elliptic to ovate or obovate, and sometimes suborbicular, 4.5 to 12 cm (1.8 to 4.7 in) long and 2.5 to 8 cm (1 to 3 in) wide. The upper leaf surface is glabrate with the lower surface glabrate or sparsely puberulent (covered with fine hairs). The separate staminate or pistillate (male or female) flowers number 3 to 15 in cymes (flower cluster with terminal flower developing first), 2 to 5 cm (0.8 to 2 in) long. Staminate flowers have densely puberulant sepals and deltate (triangular-shaped) petals 6 to 8 mm (0.2 to 0.3 in) long. Capsules are 25 to 40 mm (1 to 1.6 in) wide and 12 to 20 mm (0.5 to 0.8 in) long with 6 mm (0.2 in) long seeds.