Plants 0.3–1.5(–3) m, not clonal. Stems erect, decumbent, or trailing; branches gray-brown, yellow-brown, or red-brown, pilose, villous, or long-silky to glabrescent; branchlets violet, red-brown, or yellow-brown, pilose, densely villous, long-silky, or tomentose. Leaves: stipules (sometimes marcescent), foliaceous, (sometimes obscured by hairs); petiole (shallowly grooved adaxially), 2–5.5 mm, (usually shorter than or barely exceeding subtended bud, villous adaxially); largest medial blade hypostomatous or amphistomatous, narrowly oblong, narrowly to broadly elliptic, lanceolate, or obovate, 13–64 × 6–22 mm, 1.6–5.5 times as long as wide, base convex, margins slightly revolute, entire (obscured by hairs), apex acuminate or acute, abaxial surface densely villous or woolly to pilose, hairs straight or wavy, adaxial slightly glossy, moderately densely to sparsely villous; proximal blade margins entire; juvenile blade abaxially densely long-silky. Catkins: staminate 12–42 × 4–14 mm, flowering branchlet 0–20 mm; pistillate densely flowered, slender, stout, or subglobose, 16–69 × 4–13 mm, flowering branchlet 4–30 mm; floral bract tawny, brown, or black, 1.2–3.2 mm, apex rounded, entire, abaxially sparsely to moderately densely hairy, hairs wavy. Staminate flowers: abaxial nectary 0.5–1.2 mm, adaxial nectary narrowly oblong to ovate or flask-shaped, 0.5–1.5 mm, nectaries distinct or connate and cup-shaped; filaments distinct, glabrous, or sparsely hairy on proximal 1/2; anthers ellipsoid or globose, 0.3–0.5 mm. Pistillate flowers: abaxial nectary rarely present, 0.7 mm, adaxial nectary narrowly oblong, ovoid, or flask-shaped, 0.5–2 mm, longer than stipe; stipe 0–0.5 mm; ovary pyriform, very densely villous or long-silky, beak slightly bulged below or abruptly tapering to styles; ovules 8–20 per ovary; styles connate to almost distinct, 0.2–0.8 mm; stigmas slenderly to broadly cylindrical, 0.2–0.36–0.6 mm. Capsules 4–6 mm.
