A medium-sized snake, with a thin body. Its back has a green base color with black spots; its iris has a blackish color. Its appearance is similar to Bothriechis nigroviridis, but it has certain morphological characteristics that differentiate it from B. nigroviridis. Among them: a combination of 150 - 160 ventral scales (139 - 146 B. nigroviridis), supraocular thin scales, often kidney-shaped, with a wide interorbital space, and an higher average number of intrarectal, dorsal and subcaudal scales. It is also different from B. schlegelli and B. supraciliaris due to the absence of supraciliary scales.

The Pitviper is an arboreal snake found only in Costa Rica, from the north and central parts of the Cordillera de Talamanca, to the provinces of San Jose, Cartago, and Limon. It can be found in altitudes between 2400 and 3000 m above sea level, in the transition area between the cloud forest and the montane rainforest.