Yellow or white translucent crystallold with garlicky odor,turns dark in color on exposure to lilght. Melting point at 44.1 , Boiling point at 280 ,density at 1.82; it burns spontaneously in air with evolution of white smoke. Soluble in benzene, carbon bisulfide and chloroform slightly soluble in ether , insoluble in water. Both elementary phosphorus and its smoke are very toxic so that it must be stored in water and immersed in water for storage.