Staminate plants 5-20-leaved, 1.5-3.5 dm. Pistillate plants 15-50-leaved, 3-6 dm, 1.5 m in fruit. Leaf blades spatulate to oblanceolate, 5-20 × 1.5-6 cm, apex obtuse, tapering proximally to broad petiole, 4-6 cm; distal blades oblanceolate to linear, 3-8 × 1-1.5 cm. Staminate flowers divergent, white; tepals 3-4 mm; filaments dimorphic, the outer longer; anthers white, 0.5 mm; pistils absent; pedicel 2-5 mm. Pistillate flowers ascending, white; tepals 2-3 mm; staminodes present; ovary elliptic to obovate; styles 1.5-2 mm; stigmas sessile. Capsules ovoid-oblong, 7-14 × 5-6 mm. Seeds reddish brown, 1.8-2 mm; 5-6 mm (including winglike aril). Flowering late spring--summer. Moist meadows, thickets, rich wooded slopes, and coves; 0--1100 m; Ont.; Ala., Ark., Conn., Del., D.C., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Ky., La., Md., Mass., Mich., Miss., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Pa., S.C., Tenn., Va., W.Va.