Distribution: Occurring west of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to Oregon, east across Canada to the Great Lakes region and northeastern North America.

Habitat: Coastal bogs, swamps, lakes, and streams.

Flowers: April-June

Origin: Native

Growth Duration: Perennial

Conservation Status: Not of concern

Pollination: Wind

Deciduous, dioecious shrubs 0.5-1.5 m. tall, the new growth finely pubescent, becoming glabrous with age.

Leaves alternate, oblanceolate, 3-6 cm. long and up to 2 cm. broad, rounded to obtuse, entire to coarsely few-toothed above the middle, usually pubescent on both surfaces, strongly dotted with bright yellow wax glands.

Staminate flowers is bracteate catkins 1-2 cm. long, the main bract exceeding the stamens; stamens 3-5, the filaments free; pistillate flowers in dense spikes up to 1 cm. long, with flattened bractlets longer than the pistil fused to the base of the pistil, these much longer than the subtending bract, all parts strongly yellow-waxy.

Drupe barely 3 mm. long, smooth except for the wax glands.