[2] Couepia polyandra is native to southern Mexico south to Panama and has been introduced to Florida.

[3] It grows wild in damp thickets, riverine forests, and low woodland up to 2,000 feet (610 meters) in elevation.

[2] It is an evergreen shrub or small tree with a spreading crown that grows to 3–15 meters (9.8–49.2 feet) in height.

The rachis and branches have a short, light brown pubescence and the bracts and bracteoles measure 1–3.5 millimeters in length and are ovate and caducous.

The receptacle is subcylindrical and measures around 4 millimeters in length and has a short, appressed pubescence on the exterior and is glabrous within except for the deflexed hairs at the throat.

The calyx lobes are rounded and the petals number 5 and are white and glabrous but have ciliate margins.