Flora of North America species comparison

thin, close or becoming furrowed or broken into plates;

lenticels not conspicuous.;

bark and wood tanniferous.

ascending;

twigs pubescent, covered with bristly glandular hairs.

blade broadly ovate, often with straight sides and slight lobes near apex, giving them squarish appearance, 5–16 × 4–12 cm, moderately thin, base narrowly cordate to narrowly rounded, margins sharply serrate or obscurely doubly serrate, apex abruptly to long-acuminate;

surfaces abaxially sparsely to moderately pubescent, velutinous to tomentose along major veins and in vein axils.

2-ranked.

staminate catkins lateral along branchlets on very short shoots, usually in clusters of 1–2, 4–8 × 0.5–0.8 cm;

peduncles mostly 1–5 mm.

perianth absent.

2 per bract;

perianth adnate to ovary, often visible as membranaceous fringe at summit;

ovules with 2 integuments.

usually longer than 4 cm, consisting of relatively uncrowded clusters with large, nearly foliaceous bracts;

bracts deciduous with fruits.

tiny to moderately large nuts, not winged;

pericarp thick and bony.

buds containing inflorescences broadly ovoid, 3–4 × 3–4 mm, apex obtuse to rounded.

in clusters of 2–5, sometimes partially visible;

bracts much enlarged, leaflike, distinct nearly to base, slightly longer than to 2 times length of nuts, apex deeply and irregularly laciniate;

bract surfaces downy-pubescent, abaxially stipitate-glandular.

and branches terete.

twigs and buds usually without prominent, large, resinous glands;

pith circular to remotely triangular in cross section.

= 22, 28.