The flowers are produced in late summer or autumn, are showy and sweetly scented, 3–6 cm diameter, with four creamy-white petals, and numerous stamens and styles.

The Greek ευ-κρυφαιος means well-covered and refers to the foliage, which is clustered towards the apex of branches.

(those marked agm have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit)[10] The species and their hybrids are attractive small trees for gardens, typically with a slender conic crown when young, though widening with age.

Cultivation is restricted to areas with mild winters, cool summers and good rainfall; away from their native areas, this restricts them to the Atlantic coastal regions of Europe, the Pacific Northwest of North America, and New Zealand.

Eucryphia lucida from Tasmania is the main source of a very distinctively flavoured honey known as Leatherwood (the common name for the species).