The compound leaves have toothed leaflets and the lower stems are bristly. Small white five-petalled flowers form rounded terminal clusters on a long stalk above the leaves in late June. Clusters of small black or dark purple berries later appear. Birch grow up to 20 m. They are easily recognized by mature white bark which tears into strips.
Leaves are alternate, ovate and tapering to a tip.
This dwarf birch grows as a low shrub up to 2.5 m. Coarsely toothed leaves are alternate and may be oval, circular or ovate. The undersurfaces are paler than the shiny upper surfaces. Common in wet areas on all trails Leatherleaf is usually considered a bog plant, but at Birch Brook it grows in a variety of habitats. Its flowers are among the earliest to bloom each spring.