Sundacarpus was designated a genus by C.N.Page in 1989; formerly it had been classified variously as a species of Podocarpus or of Prumnopitys.

Sundacarpus amarus is a large evergreen tree, 10–60 m (33–197 ft) in height, with a trunk from 12–140 cm (4.7–55.1 in) in diameter.

Sundacarpus amarus is native to parts of Australia and Malesia.

It is quite common in New Guinea, New Britain, and New Ireland, where it is often found in montane forests together with southern beech (Nothofagus).

Sundacarpus amarus is also found on the Indonesian islands of Buru, Halmahera, Morotai, Sulawesi, Lombok, Flores, Timor, Sumbawa, Java, Sumatra, in Sabah province on the island of Borneo and on Mindanao and Luzon in the Philippines.