The cucumber tree has a pyramidal crown when young, developing a rounded, spreading crown at maturity, with large, wide-spreading branches.
Upper branches ascend and lower ones arch down to the ground.
Trees can live to 150 years and grow to a height of 100 feet, with an 80-foot spread. Fall color is brown or ashy-gray. Flowers are solitary, appearing after the leaves in late spring. The fruit is a leathery, cylindrical aggregate of pinkish follicles up to 3 inches long, produced in October. The structure looks somewhat like a miniature cucumber.