Small to medium sized tree reaching from 30 to 50 ft. in height and 20 in. in width. Irregular shaped crown with a poorly formed trunk.

Leaves:
 Arrangement: opposite; odd-pinnately compound with 5-9 leaflets

 Shape: Elliptic to lanceolate

 Margin: serrate

 Texture: Glabrous to silky above, pubescent below

 Variation: N/A

Grayish brown with furrows progressing into narrow, irregular, interlacing ridges.

Varying from stout to moderately slender, gray to greenish brown in color. Terminal buds are conical to ovate with a rusty brown pubescence. Lateral buds are reniform to triangular in shape.

Flowers before leaves appear. Male and female are both borne in glabrous to tomentose panicles. Samara as a fruit.

Pinnately compound with 7-9 leaflets, serrate, samara as fruit, twig flattened at the nodes. Bud sits on top of the leaf scar. Usually found on moist sites.

Eastern U.S. to Canada and the northern Great Plains.

Intermediate tolerance. Moist bottomlands, stream side species. Once established can survive on dry sterile soils, adaptable to the extremes of climate.

High strength, hardness, high shock resistance, and excellent bending properties, allow it to be used in specialty items such as tool handles and baseball bats. Popular as a shade tree in residential areas due to its good form, adaptability to a wide range of sites. The seeds are browsed by a number of game and non-game animals.