Melicope reflexa, a member of the Rutaceae (rue) family, is a sprawling shrub 1 to 3 m (3.3 to 10 ft) tall with short, yellowish-brown, short-lived hairs on new growth. The opposite, thin, and leathery leaves are elliptical and measure 8 to 14 cm (3.1 to 5.5 in) long and 4 to 7 cm (1.6 to 2.8 in) wide. Flowers arise singly or in clusters of two or three from the leaf axil. The flower cluster has a stalk 3 to 15 mm (0.1 to 0.6 in) long, and each flower is on a stalk 15 to 20 mm (0.6 to 0.8 in) long. Male flowers have not been described, but female flowers are made up of four overlapping sepals about 3 to 4 mm (0.1 in) long; four petals about 4.8 mm (0.2 in) long; an eight-lobed nectary disk; eight reduced, nonfunctional stamens; and a style about 4 mm (0.2 in) long. The capsules are 20 to 33 mm (0.8 to 1.3 in) wide with four sections 10 to 17 mm (0.4 to 0.7 in) long which are fused to each other along about one-fourth of their length. One or two glossy black seeds, about 7 to 8 mm (0.3 in) long, are found in each section of the capsule.