An upright oval or pyramidal tree growing to 30 - 40 ft. in height. Finely and irregularly toothed, broadly wedge-shaped at base, and somewhat abruptly pointed at apex. Acid taste, hence the name.
Leaves turn scarlet in fall.
Small and inconspicuous. Young stems green, developing a red coloration in summer and fall. Bark is gray-brown at maturity divided into small, blocky ridges. Alternate, simple, deciduous. Thin, pendulous, delicately curved clusters of bell-shaped ivory blossoms.