The shiny leaves are alternate and pinnately compound with three essentially unstalked leaflets, the middle one usually larger. The small, greenish-white, fragrant flowers are produced in June in clusters at the ends of the branchlets, each cluster sometimes containing both bisexual and unisexual flowers. The fruit is a round, flattened, two-seeded samara produced in drooping clusters that may persist on the tree into December or later. The common name refers to the fact that the fruits were once used in beer-making as a substitute for hops as they contain a bitter principle. The buds are tiny, rounded, woolly, pale-yellow and are hidden within the bases of the leaf stalks.
Terminal buds are absent.
The young bark is reddish-brown with numerous conspicuous lenticels, and the mature bark is dark gray, rough and scaly. The common hop tree is hardy to zones 3 to 9 and has a widely-scattered distribution from Ontario and New York to Florida and west to Minnesota. This species is very adaptable, but grows best in well-drained soils in sun or shade. This species is susceptible to attack by treehoppers which secrete a residue of honeydew, turning the twigs black. Leaf spot, rust and root rot and scale can be problematic.