Leaves are elliptical to oblanceolate with mostly invisible lateral veins.
In contrast, lateral veins are evident in Cyrilla . Twigs are smooth and angled with chestnut brown buds, shield-shaped leaf scars and one bundle scar. Bark is mottled brown and smooth. White flowers are stalked on the tip of branches forming fragrant racemes. Buckwheat-tree is a shrub or small tree that may form dense stands in swamps and along streams and rivers in the southeast Coastal Plain.