Size: shrub, 5-10' average height and spread at maturity
Leaves: evergreen, alternate, .5-1.25" long, .25-.63" wide, simple, elliptic to obovate, usually broadest at middle, leaf margin serrate from base to tip, tips acute, small black stipules on each side of leaf scar or petiole base, shiny dark green throughout the year, underside dotted with black glands
Twigs: green on current growth, gray-brown later, young stems often pubescent
Flowers: dioecious, greenish white with 4 petals in leaf axils of new growth, males in small clusters, females solitary, bloom in May or June, not very attractive but useful for identifying sex of tree
Fruit: .25" round black drupe, lasting through winter
Bark: gray-green or gray-brown on older wood
