Melicytus ramiflorus (māhoe) is a small tree of the family Violaceae endemic to New Zealand.

It grows up to 10 metres high with a trunk up to 60 cm in diameter, it has smooth, light bark and brittle twigs.

The dark-green "alternate" leaves are 5–15 cm long and 3–5 cm wide and their edges are finely serrated (although this feature is less pronounced in younger plants).The plants are dioecious and the small flowers are yellowish in colouration, between 3 and 4 mm in diameter and occur in fascicles, growing straight out from naked twigs- these flowers have a strong, pleasant fragrance.

The berries are a striking violet colour when ripe and are more or less spherical with a diameter of between 3 and 4 mm.

[citation needed] It is also a host species for the caterpillars of the New Zealand endemic moth Austramathes purpurea.