Strawberry Cherry is a small erect, highly-branched, slow-growing evergreen shrub that grows about 2-6 m tall. The plant is normally found growing in sub-montane rainforest, montane cloud forest, montane rainforest, moist tropical montane forest, riparian forest, tropical evergreen forest, deciduous woodland (oak), tropical montane savanna, lowland sub-tropical rainforest, scrubland, grassland, degraded forest, cultivation and agroforestry systems, roadsides, wastelands, pastures, scrubs, forested land and on areas disturbed by natural processes such as storms and lava flows. The plant prefers acid soils and is not sensitive to soil structure. It can grow on shallow or infertile soils. It does, however, require well-drained soil and does not tolerate waterlogging. The slender stem and branches are smooth, pinkish, greenish, or greyish-brown in color. The bark peels off in small papery flakes. Twigs are glabrous and cylindrical, and young leaves and twigs are red in color.

Fertile flowers are followed by globulous to obovoid berries, 1.5–4 cm in diameter, bearing persistent sepals at the apex. The thin skin is dark green when unripe, and then red to purple for P. cattleianum var. cattleianum and sulfur-yellow for P. cattleianum var. lucidum. Pulp is soft, white, or yellow, very juicy, and contains several (2–100) small soft seeds. Seeds are reniform, 2–3 mm long, with a yellowish testa. The fruit has a pleasant, strawberry-like flavor when ripe, hence its common name.