When the bark is stripped from branches and twigs, the wood is yellow with a strong-smelling, juicy sap. This ornamental shrub is usually planted as a specimen for its peculiar fruiting effect. This tree has escaped cultivation in disturbed sites but does not appear to be a threat to native vegetation. Leaves are alternate, entire-margined, and have long, slender petioles. Foliage is oval and has entire leaf margins.
Flowers are polygamous or dioecious.
Flowers are yellow and borne in loose, terminal panicles during June and July. The fruit is a drupe and matures in July and August. The terminal seed head retains its ornamental characteristics into the winter. Buds are dark, quite small, and have several scales. Wood is distinctively yellow.