Twigs: Slender, reddish-brown, with several short hairs; leaf scars alternate, half-elliptical, with 3 bundle traces.
Buds: Up to one-fourth inch long, pointed, hairy.
Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades rhombic to ovate, coarsely doubly toothed, paler and densely hairy on the lower surface, up to 3 inches long, acute at the tip, truncate or tapering to the base, the leafstalks woolly.
Flowers: Staminate and pistillate on same tree, inconspicuous, opening in late April and May, the staminate in slender drooping clusters, the pistillate in short, conelike, woolly clusters.
Fruit: Tiny, hairy nuts, each with a 3-lobed wing, crowded together in a cylindrical cone up to 1½ inches long and ½ inch thick.
Wood: Strong but light, pale brown.
Uses: Wood is used for furniture; sometimes planted as an ornamental.
Habitat: Along rivers and streams; bottomland woods.
Range: Massachusetts and New Hampshire across to southern Minnesota and eastern Kansas, south to eastern Texas and Florida.
Distinguishing Features: The shaggy, peeling reddish-brown bark readily distinguishes this tree from any other in Illinois, as does its rhombic, doubly toothed leaves.