Callichilia barteri grows as a shrub up to 3 metres (9.8 ft) tall. Its fragrant flowers feature a white corolla. Fruit is yellow to orange with paired follicles, each up to 5 centimetres (2.0 in) long. Habitat is in forests. Local medicinal uses include as a treatment for gonorrhoea and as an anthelmintic and childhood laxative. C. barteri is found in Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo.