The Ohio Buckeye grows 20 to 40 feet.

Foliage is palmate with 5 leaves.

The greenish-yellow, 1-inch-long flowers are produced early to mid-May in 4 to 7-inch-long terminal panicles. Unlike those of the horse chestnut, the flowers of the Ohio buckeye are not showy.

The fruits are not as spiny as the Horse chestnut, and contain dark brown seeds with a light tan spot. It is from this resemblance to a buck's eye that the tree gets it name.  These seeds are said to bring good luck.

Leaves turn yellow, to orange-red, to reddish-brown in the fall.

The bark is pale gray with corky warts, deeply furrowed, and stinks when cut into.

The thick buds of the Ohio Buckeye stand out in winter.