Size: tree, 40-50' average height at maturity, 20-30' spread
Buds: first scale directly above leaf scar like all poplars, lateral buds glabrous, dark brown, often curved at apex
Leaves: deciduous, alternate, 1.5-3" long and wide, simple, thin, ovate to orbicular, short acuminate tip, margins serrate, shiny dark green on top, shiny glabrous below
Twigs: glabrous, grayish
Flowers: dioecious, catkins
Fruit: capsule
Bark: smooth, greenish white to cream, furrowed in old age
