The flowers are white, bell-shaped, and 3–4 millimetres (1⁄8–3⁄16 in) in diameter with a five-lobed corolla, produced in racemes up to 5 cm (2 in) long.

The fruit is a round dry berry about 6 mm (1⁄4 in) in diameter, green at first, black when ripe, bitter and tough.

[5] Sparkleberry could be found in the United States from southern Virginia west to southeastern Nebraska, south to Florida and eastern Texas, and north to Illinois.

It also grows on a variety of moist sites such as wet bottomlands and along creek banks.

[8] Because of its relative hardiness in comparison to other Vaccinium species, V. arboreum has been investigated as a potential rootstock for expanding the range of blueberry cultivation to less acidic soils (pH>6.0) and reducing the severity of bacterial leaf scorch.