Catkins, sessile, few-flowered, small, 1/2 inch long, appearing before the leaves. Staminate flowers consist of 2 stamens with smooth filaments; pistillate, of 2 sessile stigmas raised above the ovary on a thread-like stalk. Leaves, very narrow, 1 to 2 inches long, whitish below, green and smooth above, with revolute margins, on short petioles.

The smallest of the genus, a tufted species, 1 or 2 feet high. Dry soil, Maine to Florida, near the coast.