This species is characterized by its medium-sized habit, its well developed flat ovate stipules with lacerate or erose glandular margins, its petiolate elliptic leaves without domatia, its pedunculate cymose inflorescences with the axes verticillate, its medium-sized flowers that are sessile in several small groups and have a reduced calyx limb, its corollas with the tubes 4-7 mm long and lobes about as long as the tube and with well developed horns or rounded projects, and its medium-sized to rather large fruits that apparently are brown or yellowish brown when young then become purple to black. The inflorescences are apparently characteristically deflexed. The axes of the inflorescences expand as the fruits develop. The fruits are ellipsoid when young but often become ovoid as they develop, as well as quite large, 20-22 x 12-13 mm.

Zappi (2000) circumscribed Rudgea verticillata rather broadly, to include plants from lowland to montane areas with these general stipule, leaf, flower, and fruit characters and fruits of various sizes. She thus found Rudgea verticillata be to morphologically variable and synonymized several other names. However here Rudgea verticillata is circumscribed more narrowly, following the taxonomy of Standley (1936). In particular in contrast to Zappi's taxonomy, Rudgea amazonica is recognized here; Rudgea amazonica is here considered to differ from Rudgea verticillata it is somewhat smaller narrower leaves that often dry yellowed, inflorescence axes that are paired, more slender corollas, and smaller fruits, 8 x 5-8 mm. Some specimens of Rudgea amazonica and Rudgea verticillata with immature fruits are difficult to separate and may be confused. Standly (1936) provisionally separated Rudgea racemosa due to lack of information about it, but Zappi (2000) treated this as a synonym of Rudgea verticillata. Plants that match the type of Rudgea racemosa are generally recognizable by their leaves with the higher-order venation not very visible, its corollas with smaller appendages on the lobes, its apparently smaller ellipsoid fruits (though these may not be mature), and its distribution generally below 1000 m; vs. leaves that dry gray or blackened with well developed higher-order venation, well developed corolla lobe appendages, ellipsoid fruits, and distribution from lower-middle eleveations to montane regions in Rudgea verticillata. However no clear distinctions separate these two groups of plants and they are provisionally combined here pending further study. Several plants from Ecuador that have been included in Rudgea verticillata are here excluded based on flower and fruit characters, and appear to represent one or very possibly two other species (Bruniera pers. comm.).

Rudgea verticillata is similar to Rudgea ciliata and Rudgea tomentosa, both of which have corollas with their lobes half as long as the tube; Rudgea ciliata also has different stipules, with an rounded interpetiolar portion that has entire margins and a medial group of glands borne below the tip. Rudgea verticillata is also generally similar to Rudgea psychotriifolia, in particular the plants that match the type of Rudgea racemosa are similar to it; however Rudgea psychotriifolia is found at lower elevations and has corollas with the tubes about twice as long as the lobes and red to orange fruits.