Shrubs or trees, 1-10(-20) m. Stems: branches gray-brown, yellow-brown, or red-brown, not glaucous, glabrous or tomentose; branchlets yellow-green or yellow-brown, sparsely to densely villous, tomentose, or velvety. Leaves: stipules absent, rudimentary, or foliaceous on early ones, foliaceous on late ones, (1-16 mm), apex acute or acuminate; petiole convex to flat adaxially, 2-13 mm, velvety or villous adaxially; largest medial blade usually oblanceolate, sometimes narrowly elliptic, elliptic or obovate, 29-100 × 9-37 mm, 1.7-3.9 times as long as wide, base cuneate or convex, margins strongly to slightly revolute or flat, entire, remotely serrate, crenate, or sinuate, (glands submarginal or epilaminal), apex acuminate, convex, or rounded, abaxial surface glaucous, sparsely to densely short-to long-silky or woolly, hairs (white, sometimes also ferruginous), wavy or straight, adaxial slightly glossy, pilose or moderately densely short-silky, midrib velutinous or villous, (hairs white, sometimes also ferruginous); proximal blade margins entire, serrulate, or crenulate; juvenile blade reddish or yellowish green, sparsely to densely villous, short-or long-silky abaxially, hairs white, sometimes also ferruginous. Catkins flowering before leaves emerge; staminate stout or subglobose, 18-40.5 × 8-22 mm, flowering branchlet 0-4 mm; pistillate very densely flowered, slender or stout, 18-60(-90 in fruit) × 10-22 mm, flowering branchlet 0-8 mm; floral bract brown, black, or bicolor, 1.5-4.5 mm, apex rounded or acute, abaxially hairy, hairs straight. Staminate flowers: adaxial nectary oblong or square, 0.4-0.9 mm; filaments distinct, glabrous or hairy on proximal 1/2; anthers purple turning yellow, ellipsoid to shortly cylindrical, 0.7-1.2 mm. Pistillate flowers: adaxial nectary oblong or square, 0.2-0.8 mm, shorter than stipe; stipe 0.8-2.3 mm; ovary pyriform or obclavate, densely long-silky, beak slightly bulged below styles; ovules 10-18 per ovary; styles 0.2-0.6 mm; stigmas slenderly cylindrical, 0.4-0.82-1.04 mm. Capsules 4.5-11 mm. 2n = 76.
Dry conifer forests, mature woods on edges of streams and lakes, treed bogs, meadows, subalpine slopes, springs, pine barrens, openings in old burns, arroyos and disturbed sites, sandy, silty-clay, or gravelly, igneous substrates; to 3,500 metres
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