General: Dioecious shrubs, 1-5 m tall, not colonial; branches erect, flexible at base; twigs yellow- to red-brown, smooth.
Leaves: Alternate, simple, leathery, narrowly oblong to elliptic, lance-, or narrowly egg-shaped, 4-9.5 cm long, 1-3 cm wide, lower surface glaucous or not, smooth, upper surface highly glossy, smooth, margins toothed, bases pointed to rounded, tips pointed; leaf stalks with glandular dots at top; stipules absent or rudimentary.
Flowers: Unisexual, lacking sepals and petals, borne in catkins which flower as leaves emerge or after them, the catkins stout, on leafy twigs; floral bracts pale, hairs straight, female bracts deciduous; stamens 3-9; ovaries 1, smooth; styles 0.3-1 mm long.
Fruits: Capsules which split open to release the seeds, each of which is surrounded by a tuft of hairs; stalks 1.2-2.4 mm long.
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range. (Updated August, 2013)
