Bark gray to yellow-brown, thick, divided into narrow forking ridges. Buds small, round, light brown, no terminal bud. Sap thick, white, sticky.
Flowers staminate and pistillate on different trees, very small, green, blooming in early Spring.
The species has been widely planted and has become naturalized over much of the U. S. except for the coldest and driest regions. The presettlement distribution is thought to have been from central Oklahoma down the Arkansas and Red Rivers to the lower Mississippi valley. Before barbed wire came into general use, hedge apple was widely used as a spiny living fence to keep cattle out of crops. The wood is very resistant to decay, and is used for fence posts. The wood and bark have been used in the past for tanning and dyeing.