Leaves occur at the ends of stout branches in dense, ball-like tufts. Leaves are bright green, slender, flexible, and 3-sided. These leaves begin to fall off in the second season. The flowers are dioecious. The male is solitary, with yellow stamens.
Females are also solitary and purple.
The bark is irregularly fissured and scaly, dark brown, and often tinged with orange. The Florida torreya is a rare tree of local occurrence. It grows on bluffs and slopes covered by rich, moist soils of limestone origin. It usually occurs as an occasional tree in association with Florida yew and many hardwoods, including swamp white oak, southern Magnolia, holly, buckeyes, palmetto, beech, yellow-poplar, and redgum. It is largely restricted to the banks of the Apalachicola River and its tributaries in western Florida.