Catkins appearing with the leaves, the pistillate from scaly buds, slender-peduncled, short, clustered; staminate, slender, without scaly covering, 1 to 2 inches long, from buds which were formed the season before. Leaves, oval, slightly heart-shape, downy on the veins underneath, serrulate with very finely cut teeth, short-petioled, dark green above, paler underneath. June.

Near the coast, along the mountains from Maine to North Carolina and westward across the country. 2 to 4 feet high.