The Mock Lime is native from Southern and Southeast Asia, Northern Australia and New Caledonia. It is typically a compact evergreen shrub that grows to heights of 2.5 to 3.5 m, but as this unique specimen highlights, it can occasionally grow as a tree up to about 12 m tall. The compound leaves are odd-pinnate, with three to nine dark green and glossy leaflets. The small, white flowers are produced in abundance and have a very pleasant fragrance.

Birds like the Yellow-vented Bulbul (Pycnonotus goiavier), Black-naped Oriole (Oriolus chinensis) and Coppersmith Barbet (Megalaima haemacephala) are attracted by the fleshy and bright red fruit and help to disperse the seeds after feeding on the fruit.

The Mock Lime has a dense growth form. It stays evergreen and blooms year round, making it an excellent hedging plant for screening and privacy.

This tree was likely planted after the Fairy Point Chalets were built in the late 1920s as residences for senior British officers. It had a girth of 2.6 m and was thought to have stood here for more than 70 years when it was endorsed as a Heritage Tree in 2018.