Size: tree, 50-80' average height at maturity
Buds: terminal absent
Leaves: deciduous, opposite or subopposite, 2-4" long and wide, simple, broadly ovate, tip obtuse, crenate-serrate margines, resembles Cercis, dark blue-green, glaucescent beneath, maroon in spring, yellow with touch of red in fall
Twigs: slender in youth, swollen at nodes, spur growth conspicuous on older wood, often in whitish bands
Flowers: dioescious, inconspicuous, blooming before leafing out
Fruit: dehiscent pods to .75", groups of 2-4, containing many small winged seeds
Bark: brown, slightly shaggy on old trunks
