The black bird-berry or lemoenbos (Afrikaans) as Psychotria capensis subsp. capensis is commonly known, is a small, erect, evergreen tree. The cream-coloured or yellow flowers appear in terminal branched heads, while the clusters of ovoid yellow fruit that eventually turn red and later black, attract many birds during autumn.

The species is found in nature along the South African south and east coasts from the eastern parts of the Western Cape, through the Eastern Cape to KwaZulu-Natal and inland in the Lowveld of Mpumalanga and Limpopo (Coates Palgrave, 2002).