Shrubs , 3-10(-20) dm; branches slender. Leaves: stipules 1.5-4(-6.1) mm; petioles 3-8(-12) mm. Leaf blade elliptic-oblong, obovate, or somewhat orbiculate, symmetric, 1.9-6 × 1.3-4.5 cm, base rounded to truncate, rarely oblique, proximal margins entire, distal margins dentate and mucronate-toothed or entire, apex acute to obtuse or rounded; surfaces abaxially glaucous or green, adaxially green, both surfaces stellate-pubescent; veins 4-5 pairs. Inflorescences sessile or short-pedunculate, 1.5-4.2 × 1.5-3.5 cm. Flowers : calyx lobes obsolete in fruit; stamens 12-24; filaments 4-12 mm. Fruiting spikes 2.3-4.3 × 1.5-2 cm. Capsules 6-12 mm. Seeds 4-6 mm, apex blunt. 2 n = 48.

Flowering spring (Mar-May). Sandy pine woods, sphagnum swamps and bogs, Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains; 0-185 m; Ala., Fla., Ga., N.C., S.C.

Nomenclaturally Fothergilla alnifolia Linnaeus f. is illegitimate.