Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades usually ovate, with a few broad teeth along the edges, bluntly pointed at the tip, cut straight across or a little heart-shaped at the base, up to 4 inches long, dark green on the upper surface, silvery-hairy or white-wooly on the lower surface; leafstalks up to 3 inches long, densely hairy, not flat.
Flowers: Staminate and pistillate borne on separate trees, crowded together in catkins, appearing when the leaves unfold.
Fruit: Often curved, flask-shaped capsules, greenish, hairy, up to ¼ inch long, containing many seeds with cottony hairs attached.
Wood: Light weight, soft.
Use: Grown as an ornamental because of its silvery leaves.
Habitat: Along roads, around old homesteads.
Range: Native of Europe and Asia; frequently planted and escaped from cultivation in the United States.
Distinguishing Features: The leaves, with their silvery or white-wooly under-surface and their few broad teeth, provided the best means of identifying this tree.
