Twigs are zigzag and green to red, yellow, or brown. Buds are embedded. Bark is dark gray to black, blocky, and deeply grooved with red-orange bark inside the grooves. Flowers are white and bell-shaped forming drooping graceful clusters.
Fruit is a capsule found in drooping clusters that persist into winter.
Click on photo to enlarge. All text and photographs are intended for educational purposes only and are not for commercial use in any form. 1999, all rights reserved. Photographs by Mike Hogan or Todd Langston.