 "Bursera simaruba" is a small to medium-sized tree growing to 30 meters tall, with a diameter of one meter or less at 1.5 meters above ground.The bark is shiny dark red, and the leaves are spirally arranged and pinnate with 7-11 leaflets, each leaflet broad ovate, 4–10 cm long and 2–5 cm broad.The gumbo-limbo is comically referred to as the tourist tree because the tree's bark is red and peeling, like the skin of sunburnt tourists, who are a common sight in the plant's range.