It is a low shrub growing to 50 centimetres (20 inches) tall—rarely up to 2 metres (6+1⁄2 feet)—with evergreen leaves 2–6 cm (3⁄4–2+3⁄8 in) long and 3–15 millimetres (1⁄8–5⁄8 in) broad.

The leaves are wrinkled on top, densely hairy white to red-brown underneath, and have a leathery texture, curling at the edges.

The tiny white flowers grow in hemispherical clusters and are very fragrant and sticky.

[4] It is reported from Greenland, as well as from every province and territory in Canada and in the north of the United States including the Northeast (New England, New York, Pennsylvania), the Northwest (Oregon, Washington, Idaho), parts of the Upper Midwest (Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota) and Alaska.

[5] It grows in bogs, muskegs, and open tundra, as well as occasionally on wet shores and rocky alpine slopes.