• Shape: Multi-stemmed understory tree
• Leaf/Branch Arrangement: Alternate
• Flower: Brown/red elongated cluster – catkin, males 1 ¾-3 ½ inches long, females ¼ inch long
• Leaves: 1½-4½ inches long, 1-3 inches wide, egg-shaped edges are jagged and coarsely double-toothed
• Bark: grayish to reddish brown with pale horizontal lenticels
• Fruit/Seed: oval to egg-shaped, cone-like clusters up to 2/3 inch long
• Height: 10-25 feet
• Flowering: May - March
• Habitat: bogs, swamps, shores, stream banks, swales, borders of wet meadows