Form: 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

Venation: N/A

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

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

Distinguishing characteristics: 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.

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

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

Ecological and cultural importance: 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.