At maturity TSA is from 3-6 ft tall and the entire plant (stems, leaves) has prickles (like thorns) which are about 0.5 - 1.0 inch long. Leaves are pubescent (hairy), are 6-8 inches long and 3-6 inches wide, and are lobed. The flowers are white with creamish-colored stamens.

The fruit is globular, about 1 inch in diameter, and yellow when mature (immature fruit looks like a watermelon). Each mature fruit contains about 400 seeds that are light red-brown (about .10 inches in diameter). Seeds are only moderately flattened, contained in a mucilaginous layer which contains a glyco-alkaloid called solasodine. Fruit size of TSA collected in south Florida averaged 1 inch in diameter with an average of 413 seed per fruit.