Trees , to 46 m. Twigs greenish, reddish, or grayish brown, normally retaining color on drying, stout, hirsute. Terminal buds tan to dark brown, 9-18 mm, tomentose. Leaves 3-6 dm; petiole 5-13 cm, hirsute. Leaflets 6-26 × 3-14 cm, terminal petiolules 5-17 mm; blades abaxially hirsute, with small irregular, round, and 4-lobed peltate scales. Staminate catkins to 13 cm. Fruits 3.5-4 × 3.5-4 cm; husks 4-15 mm thick. 2 n = 32.

Flowering spring. Wet bottomlands, rocky hillsides, and limestone outcrops; 0-1400 m; Ont., Que.; Ala., Ark., Conn., Del., D.C., Ga., Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Ky., La., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mo., Nebr., N.H., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Okla., Pa., R.I., S.C., Tenn., Tex., Vt., Va., W.Va., Wis.