Shrub to 3 m, with hairy twigs and infl; lvs elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, 3-8 cm, acute or acuminate, acute at base, glabrous or nearly so; stipules tiny, slender, caducous; racemes 4-15 cm; pedicels 2-3 mm; sep-tips eventually deciduous; pet 5-6 mm; capsules ±reflexed, slender, 7-10 mm including the style; 2n=22. Swamps and wet woods, chiefly on the coastal plain; s. N.J. and e. Pa. to Fla. and La., n. in the Miss. valley to s. Ill. May, June.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.