Shrubs, 1-3 m, (sometimes forming clones by stem fragmentation). Stems: branches (highly brittle at base), yellow-brown or red-brown, weakly glaucous or not, (dull or slightly glossy), velvety or short-silky to glabrescent; branchlets gray-brown or red-brown, sparsely or moderately densely short-silky or velvety, (buds caprea-type or intermediate). Leaves: stipules usually rudimentary, sometimes foliaceous on early ones, foliaceous on late ones, apex acute; petiole shallowly grooved, or convex to flat adaxially, 3-12 mm, short-silky or velvety adaxially; largest medial blade lorate, narrowly oblanceolate, or oblanceolate, 43-74-103 × 8-25 mm, 2.9-4.8-7.7 times as long as wide, base convex or cuneate, margins slightly revolute to flat, entire, apex acuminate, convex, or acute, abaxial surface glaucous (sometimes obscured by hairs), densely short-silky, hairs straight, adaxial dull (sometimes thinly glaucous) to slightly glossy, sparsely short-or long-silky; proximal blade margins entire; juvenile blade yellowish green or reddish, densely long-silky abaxially, hairs white. Catkins flowering as leaves emerge; staminate stout or subglobose, 16-16.5 × 11-13 mm, flowering branchlet 2.5-3 mm; pistillate moderately densely flowered, slender to stout, 33-55 × 10-11 mm, flowering branchlet 1.5-7 mm; floral bract brown or tawny, 0.8-2 mm, apex rounded or acute, abaxially hairy, hairs straight. Staminate flowers: adaxial nectary narrowly oblong to oblong, 0.4-0.8 mm; stamens 1 or 2; filaments distinct or connate less than 1/2 their lengths, hairy on proximal 1/2; anthers purple turning yellow, ellipsoid or shortly cylindrical, 0.6-0.8 mm. Pistillate flowers: adaxial nectary oblong to narrowly oblong or flask-shaped, 0.3-0.6 mm, shorter than or equal to stipe; stipe 0.4-1.2 mm; ovary pyriform, densely long-silky, beak gradually tapering to styles; ovules 13-18 per ovary; styles 0.4-0.6 mm; stigmas flat, abaxially non-papillate with rounded to pointed tip, 0.2-0.3 mm. Capsules 3-5 mm.
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