E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

General:
Dioecious shrubs, 0.3-1 m tall, layering; branches erect, flexible at base; twigs yellow- to grey-brown, densely hairy.

Leaves:
Alternate, simple, strap-shaped to lance-shaped, 4.7-10 cm long, 0.5-2 cm wide, lower surface glaucous, densely woolly, hairs white, upper surface dull or shiny, sparsely hairy or woolly, margins entire to toothed, bases and tips pointed; leaf stalks without glandular dots at top; stipules leaflike.

Flowers:
Unisexual, lacking sepals and petals, borne in catkins in which flowers emerge as leaves emerge, or just before them, the catkins stout, unstalked or on leafy twigs; floral bracts pale or dark, hairs straight; stamens 2; ovaries 1, hairy; styles 0.3-1.9 mm long.

Fruits:
Capsules which split open to release the seeds, each of which is surrounded by a tuft of hairs; stalks 0.1-1.2 mm long.

Notes:
This species hybridizes with both S. myrtillifolia and S. petiolaris.