Size: tree, 50-60' average height at maturity, 35-40' spread
Buds: stout, fusiform, 2-ranked, lower bud scales puberulent (very short hairs)
Leaves: deciduous, alternate, 2-4" long, 1.5-2.5" wide, simple, ovate to elliptic, acute tips, entire or obscurely toothed, shiny dark green, rich russet and golden bronze in fall
Twigs: often villous (with long scattered hairs), especially below the bud or at base of twig on bud scale scar area
Flowers: monoecious, males in globose heads, females usually in short spikes, bloom in April to early May
Fruit: a nut (or several), triangular in cross-section, about .5" long, in prickly involucre up to .75"
Bark: darker gray than grandifloia, elephantine
