Leaves are alternate and doubly toothed. Flowers are monoecious and borne in catkins.
Fruit is a nutlet in a pendant, hop-like structure.
Ostrya Species Bud scales are marked with fine, longitudinal lines. Buds are not conspicuously variable in size or angle. Leaves with each side vein form one or two branches near the margin of the leaf. Teeth are of nearly the same size, making a uniformly toothed leaf margin. The bark of the trunk and main branches strips off in thin shreds.