• Shape: Multi-stemmed shrub
• Leaf/Branch Arrangement: Alternate
• Flower: elongate fuzzy cluster – catkin, 1-4 inches long, male and female on different plants
• Leaves: 1-3 inches long, 1 3/8 inches wide, 2-4 times longer than wide, pointed tip, irregularly toothed
• Bark: grey
• Fruit/Seed: cluster of elongated green capsules with and inflated base
• Height: 6-30 feet
• Flowering: April - May
• Habitat: swamps, marshes, shores, thickets, seeps, swales, wet meadows, wet ditches