Plants 0.03-0.25 m, not clonal or forming clones by layering. Stems erect, decumbent, or trailing; branches yellow-brown, gray-brown, or red-brown, (strongly glaucous or not, slightly glossy), glabrous; branchlets yellow-brown, red-brown, or violet, (strongly glaucous or not), usually densely villous or pilose (usually appearing unkempt), sometimes glabrous, (inner membranaceous bud-scale layer free, not separating from outer layer). Leaves: stipules absent, rudimentary, or foliaceous (0.2-1.5-10 mm); petiole 2-35 mm, (longer than subtended bud, puberulent or glabrous adaxially); largest medial blade hypostomatous or hemiamphistomatous, narrowly to broadly elliptic, subcircular, circular, oblanceolate, obovate, or broadly obovate, 10-85 × 5.5-60 mm, 1-3.6(-4.9) times as long as wide, base cuneate, convex, or rounded, margins slightly revolute or flat, entire, apex acuminate, acute, convex, or rounded, abaxial surface pilose or midrib sparsely short-silky, or apex long-silky bearded, hairs usually straight or wavy, adaxial slightly glossy or dull, glabrous, pilose or long-silky margin; proximal blade margins entire; juvenile blade glabrous or sparsely villous abaxially, hairs straight, oriented toward apex. Catkins: staminate 14-65 × 5-18 mm, flowering branchlet 2-36 mm; pistillate densely to moderately densely flowered (30+ flowers), slender, stout, or subglobose, 20-145 × 8-22 mm, flowering branchlet 2-40 mm; floral bract brown or black, 1.6-3.7 mm, margins sometimes sinuate, apex broadly rounded, convex, or retuse, entire, sinuate, or 2-fid, abaxially hairy, hairs straight. Staminate flowers: abaxial nectary (0-)0.3-0.8 mm, adaxial nectary narrowly oblong, oblong, or square, 0.5-1.2 mm, nectaries distinct; filaments distinct; anthers ellipsoid, 0.3-0.9 mm. Pistillate flowers: adaxial nectary oblong, ovate, or narrowly oblong, 0.4-1.8 mm, much longer than stipe; stipe 0.2-1.6 mm; ovary obclavate or pyriform, villous, beak abruptly to gradually tapering to or slightly bulged below styles; ovules 12-15 per ovary; styles (connate to distinct 1/2 their lengths), 0.6-2.2 mm; stigmas slenderly cylindrical, 0.35-0.56-0.88(-1.13) mm. Capsules 4-9 mm. 2n = 76, 114.
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Branchlets yellowish, becoming russet or chestnut colored, glabrous. Petiole (3-)5-10 mm, rather thick, notched, pilose; leaf blade long obovate, elliptic, or ovate, 2-3 × 1-2 cm, abaxiallygreenish, glabrous or along midvein sparsely long pubescent, pilose when young, adaxially green, base broadly cuneate, margin entire, apex obtuse. Catkins borne on distal part of branchlets, thinly cylindric, 2-3 cm; bracts russet, long elliptic, adaxially villous. Male flower: stamens 2, free. Fruiting catkin elongated; peduncle with leaflets, tomentose. Femaleflower: ovary long cylindric, tomentulose; style ca. 1 mm; stigma 2-parted. Capsule russet, 5-6 mm, slightly pilose. Fl. Jun-Jul, fr. Aug. 2n = 76, 100, 114.
A prostrate shrub. It grows up to 60 cm high. It grows in clumps and these form dense mats.
Various wet to dry habitats, including tundra, snowbeds, pond margins, beach, shale & gypsum ridges, gneissic cliffs, talus slopes, moraines, poorly drained calcareous silty till, muddy salt flats, heavy clay, dry calcareous gravel, coarse sandy soil
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It grows in tundra and exposed sites in north Canada.
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