LEAVES: Alternate, simple, oval, 4″-6″ long, rounded to acute at the tips, oblique at the base; margins dentate; dark green above, paler beneath midrib and primary veins prominent.
TWIGS: Zigzag, light-brown with small light green pith, rather slender, often downy or scaly especially near the end, but sometimes smooth and shiny, with a few scattered, white lenticels.
FRUIT: A yellowish-brown woody pod holding two shiny black seeds, ripens in October-November of the year following fertilization, at the same time as the current year’s blossoms appear. Flowers with bright yellow strap-shaped petals. Ripe pods burst open throwing the seed five feet or more.
BARK: Light brown somewhat mottled, when young smooth, later scaly. Inner bark reddish purple.
GENERAL: A small tree or large shrub, to 25′ high, tolerant of shade. Found in moist, rocky locations throughout the Commonwealth, occasionally ascending slopes to rather dry sites. A medicinal extract is distilled from the bark.
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