LEAVES.—Alternate, simple, 3-5 inches long, two-thirds as broad; orbicular-ovate; coarsely and irregularly sinuate-toothed; thin and firm; dark green above, paler beneath, glabrous both sides; petioles long, slender, laterally compressed.
FLOWERS.—April, before the leaves; dioecious; the staminate in short-stalked catkins 1-3 inches long; the pistillate in loose-flowered, long-stalked catkins at first about the same length, but gradually elongating; calyx 0; corolla 0; stamens 6-12, with red anthers; stigmas 2, 2-lobed, red.
FRUIT.—May; 2-valved, conical, acute, hairy capsules 1/8 inch long, borne in drooping catkins 4-6 inches long; seeds minute, dark brown, hairy.
WINTER-BUDS.—Terminal bud 1/8 inch long, ovoid to conical, acute, light chestnut, puberulous, dusty-looking.
BARK.—Twigs greenish gray and at first hoary-tomentose, becoming lustrous, orange or red-brown and finally greenish gray; thick, dark red-brown or blackish at the base of old trunks, irregularly fissured, with broad, flat ridges.
WOOD.—Light, soft, weak, close-grained, light brown, with thin, whitish sapwood.
DISTRIBUTION.—A common tree in the northern portions of the Lower Peninsula, but rare in the Upper Peninsula.
HABITAT.—Prefers rich, moist, sandy soil; borders of swamps; river-banks; hillsides.
NOTES.—Grows rapidly in many soils. Easily transplanted. Short-lived. Useful for temporary effect. Propagated from seed or cuttings.