Black Rosewood is predominantly a single-stemmed deciduous tree with a dome shaped crown of lush green foliage. The tree can become 20-40 m tall, with a trunk diameter of 1.5-2 m. The bark is gray, thin with irregular short cracks, peeling in fibrous longitudinal flakes. Alternately arranged leaves are odd-pinnate with 5-7 unequal sized leaflets originating from the same rachis. Leaflets are broadly blunt-tipped, dark green above and pale below. White flowers are borne in panicles, 0.5-1 cm long, in leaf axils. The brown pods are oblong-lancelike, and pointed at both ends. They contain 1-4 smooth brown seeds and do not open at maturity. The species name latifolia means broad-leaved.