Size: tree, 40-70' average height at maturity, 20-35' spread
Buds: superimposed in groups of 3-4, terminal absent, laterals hidden beneath slightly raised leaf scars
Leaves: deciduous, alternate, 6-14" long, pinnately compound, 7-19 leaflets, each 1-2" long, elliptic or ovate, margins entire, tip mucronate, dark blue-green, can be yellow in fall
Twigs: slender, zigzagging, angular, spiny with pairs of stipular prickles at nodes, each about .25-.5"
Flowers: monoecious, white, about 1", in racemes up to 8" long, very fragrant, bloom May to early June
Fruit: flat brown-black pod, 2-4" long
Bark: blackish or reddish brown, deep ridges and furrows when mature
