[3] Most genus members are dioecious, producing unisexual male or female flowers on separate plants.

The leaves which are in opposite pairs are simple, yellowish green in color, have a raised mid rib and are very similar to Laurelia novae-zelandiae.

Its environmental tolerance to climatic extremes was experimentally tested by exposing the seedlings to frost, drought, and waterlogged soil conditions.

Ascarina lucida has a similar drought tolerance to Coprosma grandifolia, a species known to be drought intolerant; seedlings had considerable tolerance of waterlogged soils, but exhibited reduced root weights when severely waterlogged; and a frost of -2 °C resulted in complete mortality for seedlings sourced from lowland and sub montane populations.

However, the early successional nature of this species also suggests that disturbance regime plays an important role in regulating its distribution and abundance.