A multi-stemmed shrub in open woods of the eastern U.S. but is not as common as C. cornuta. Leaves are similar to C. cornuta but petiole is glandular with prominent red hairs. Twigs have pinkish hairs at right angles to the twig. Fruit is an edible, globular, chestnut-brown nut surrounded by two leafy bracts with fringed margins that lacks a "beak".