In the lowlands it is occasionally found in year-round swamps with elm and in the hills and on dryer slopes with oaks and hickories. Leaves are glossy, deep green above and somewhat bloomy beneath. Leaves are oval but may be broader near the apex, shiny, and dark green in color. Leaf margins are generally entire but sometimes are slightly toothed. In the fall, the leaves turn a brilliant red.
Buds are imbricate.
Twigs have distinctively diaphragmed pith. The bark on young trees is furrowed between flat ridges and gradually develops into quad-rangular blocks that are dense, hard, and nearly black. The green flowers on long, slender stems appear in May or June when the leaves are about one-third grown. Flowers may be polygamous or dioecious, but they are usually of two kinds. They, too, are borne on long stems, two to three in a cluster, and mature in October.