Melicope ovalis is a tree reaching heights up to 5 meters. The new growth is initially brownish puberulent but becomes glabrate as it matures. The leaves are simple and opposite, with broadly elliptic-ovate or elliptic blades that are 8–16 cm long and 4–10 cm wide. These leaves are glabrous and coriaceous and become brittle when dry. The margins of the leaves are entire, and the primary lateral veins, typically 10–12 pairs, are connected by an arched vein located 7–12 mm from the margin, displaying several intervening meshes of veins. This venation is pinnate, with lateral veins joined by an arched submarginal vein and higher-order venation forming a reticulate pattern. The petioles are stout and measure 30–40 mm in length. It does not have stipules. The flowers appear in groups of 3–7 within glabrous, axillary cymes with peduncles measuring 3–12 mm long, with pedicels extending 10–13 mm. It has eight stamens, and the superior ovary is 4-celled and lobed, with connate carpels but slightly distinct at the apex. Each cell contains two hemitropous ovules, with one ascending. The style terminates in 4 short stigmatic branches. The fruit is a cuboid to subglobose capsule, approximately 10 mm long and 12–14 mm wide, with both the exocarp and endocarp glabrous. Each carpel contains 1–2 seeds, each about 5-7 mm long. It grows in wet forests, on slopes, in gullies, and along streams between 670 – 902 meters.