Foliage is oval and has entire leaf margins. Flowers are polygamous or dioecious. Flowers are yellow and borne in loose, terminal panicles during June and July. The fruit is a drupe and matures in July and August. The terminal seed head retains its ornamental characteristics into the winter.
Buds are dark, quite small, and have several scales.
Wood is distinctively yellow. The plant is too small to have value for lumber.