Pittosporum fairchildii is endemic to the coastal forest and the sheltered cliff faces of New Zealand’s Three Kings Islands where it is known from North East, Great (Manawa Tawhi), South East and West islands.

P. fairchildii is a gynodioecious (a dimorphic breeding system in which male-sterile individuals (i. e. females) coexist with hermaphroditic individuals in populations) shrub to small tree 5 m tall. The brown trunk is smooth and can be branched from the ground. The dark to light green leaves ( 7.5 cm long 3.5 cm wide) with the sides sometimes rolled under. The undersurface of the leaves is a pale green with a network of veins visible. Flowering and fruiting occur late winter to spring. The dark red to nearly black flowers (12 mm diameter) are terminal in 2-4-flowered clusters. Pittosporum fairchildii is included IUCN red list of threatened species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature as vulnerable.