[5] The hairy gardenia is a straggly, woody, rainforest shrub growing up to 4 or 5 m (13 or 16 ft) tall.

[8] Atractocarpus hirtus was first described as Gardenia hirta in 1869 by Ferdinand von Mueller in his work Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae (vol.

[5] Mueller later transferred it to the genus Randia in his publication Systematic Census of Australian Plants of 1882.

[8] This species is endemic to a small part of the World Heritage listed Wet Tropics of Queensland, with a range extending from Cape Tribulation in the north to Hinchinbrook Island in the south.

[5][8] Atractocarpus hirtus is listed as least concern by both the IUCN and the Queensland Government's Department of Environment and Science.