Deciduous tree that reaches 30 m in height, its trunk is straight with grayish bark. Its crown is open and clear, wide, scattered, generally not very dense. The branches are robust, long and cylindrical. The flowers are gathered in inflorescences of type amento, which appear before the leaves. It occurs in eastern Europe and western Asia, in the Iberian Peninsula is found in feral form. It inhabits the banks of rivers. It is indifferent to the substrate, but shuns the saline to require moisture in the soil.