Shrubs [trees] to 2 [12] m. Leaves: petiole to 5 mm; blade usually ovate to obovate, sometimes rhombic, to 8 cm, chartaceous to ± coriaceous, base cuneate to rounded, margins usually crenate to serrate, sometimes subentire, apex shortly acuminate to rounded, sometimes retuse, surfaces usually glabrous, sometimes glabrescent on vasculature abaxially. Inflorescences sessile or obscurely pedunculate, 4-18-flowered. Pedicels to 5(-8) mm at anthesis, articulate proximal to middle, usually near base. Flowers: pistillate sometimes with sterile, ± reduced stamens; sepals white, yellowish, or greenish, sometimes reddish adaxially, ovate, 1-1.5 mm, margins short-ciliate, surfaces usually shortly pubescent, sometimes glabrate; stamens 16-24; filaments glabrous; ovary ovoid-oblong, glabrous. Berries reddish to red-black at maturity, subglobose, 4-7 mm, glabrous. Seeds 2-6, broadly ovoid, angular-compressed, sometimes reniform, 3-4 mm.

Flowering and fruiting year-round. Brushland and palm groves, often on slopes, often in moist soils; 0-100 m; Tex.; Mexico; West Indies (Curaçao); Central America; South America (Venezuela).

In the flora area, Xylosma flexuosa is found on the Gulf coastal plain from Cameron to Nueces counties.