Size: shrub 6-10' average height, 6-8' spread
Buds: solitary, sessile, ovoid, 3-4 pairs of scales, small lateral buds present
Leaves: deciduous, opposite, 1-3" long, .75-2" wide, simple, broad ovate, acuminate tips, entire or with shallow teeth, dark green in summer, yellowish or reddish in fall
Twigs: bark firm, reddish purple or tan, often have conspicuously raised stipular lines, giving them a "telescope" look
Flowers: monoecious, pink with yellow throats, shaped like flaring trumpets, in groups of 2, .5" long, bloom in May or early June
Fruit: bristly, ovoid, .25" long, in long-lasting clusters
Bark: older stems often have exfoliating bark with inner, exposed portions striped purple
