 It is a deciduous large shrub or small tree growing to tall.The leaves are oval, long and broad, oblique at the base, acute or rounded at the apex, with a wavy-toothed or shallowly lobed margin, and a short petiole 6–10 mm long; they are dark green and thinly hairy above, and grey beneath with dense grey hairs.The Latin term means "soft", and refers to the felted leaves, which turn yellow in autumn.