Leaves are alternate and odd-pinnate with five to 11 leaflets per leaf. Flowers are dioecious or polygamous and small. Fruit is a dry follicle. Prickles are found mostly in pairs below the stipules. Leaflets are either slightly toothed or entire.
Buds are reddish and woolly.
Leaf scars are white. May. Fruit is black and ripens in August. Pricklyash is less common in the eastern portion of the state. This plant is a source of xanthoxylin which is used in some medical preparations and at one time was used as a folk cure for a toothache. Leaves are alternate, odd-pinnately compound with five to 11 leaflets per leaf.