Arkansas Black is broadly disease resistant with its one susceptibility being scab. It is highly resistant to cedar-apple rust and fireblight, and it will tolerate low desert heat. This is not a very productive tree. This tree is triploid and cannot be used as a pollenizer; two other diploid varieties should be present for full pollination.

The fruit is a deep, dark purplish red that turns almost black at maturity. In Apples of Uncommon Character, Jacobsen writes: "In the hand, it feels like somebody carved an apple from a piece of oak and painted it blackish burgundy. It's that hard." These apples hang like crazy and will keep all winter. They will not reach full ripeness until they have been in storage for about three months, when the flesh will turn from greenish white to a creamy yellow color and the flavor will develop from tart to a bright, aromatic sweetness. It's an apple that's worth the wait. The distinctive aromatic flavor has also made it a favorite for cider blending.

The original tree is thought to have been a seedling of Winesap that grew in the orchard of Mr. Brattwait in Bentonville, Arkansas in the 1870s.