Dodonea angustifolia has simple, spirally arranged and narrowly elliptic leaves. The leaf surfaces are shiny, pale green, sticky and resinous. The leaf apex and base both taper and the margin is entire. The name angustifolia means narrow-leaved in Latin.

The fruit is a two or three-winged capsule similar to Combretum fruits. These fruits may be yellow, somewhat red or purplish as in this picture that was taken near Van Wyksdorp in the southern Cape. The fruit is sometimes called a samara, which is defined as a dry indehiscent one-seeded fruit with a wing-like extension for aiding dispersal (Schmidt, et al, 2002; Van Wyk and Van Wyk, 1997; Free Online Dictionary).