Leaf blades are glabrous, somewhat leathery, elliptic in shape, and about 1-2 inches in length. The upper surfaces are dark green and shiny, while the lower surfaces are paler and dull with scattered small reddish-colored glands. Leaf margins are mostly entire, with small teeth occurring toward the apex of the leaf. The petioles are powdery-pubescent and are less than a centimeter in length. This plant is monoecious for the most part.
Individual flowers are in small clusters on short stalks.
Fruit Fruit is a spherical, black drupe, less than a centimeter in diameter. It contains several 1-seeded nutlets. The twigs are slender, pubescent through about 3 seasons, then becoming gray or grayish-brown and glabrous. The pith is small and homogeneous. Habitat Gallberry grows in pine savannas, flatwoods, bogs, seepage areas, and on the lower slopes of wooded ravines.