Commonly used as fireplace and wood stove fuel Graceful form and attractive bark make it a popular landscape plant. The sap is made into syrup, wine, beer, and medicinal tonics. Flowers , male and female, occur in separate, pendulous catkins on the same tree. Female catkins appear in the spring before the leaves are fully expanded. Seed production begins at about age 15, with optimum production at 40 to 70 years.
Trees produce good seed crops about every other year.
The small, double-winged seeds are dispersed primarily by wind. Most seeds fall 100'-200' from the parent tree. Nearly all the seed is shed from September through November. A small percentage of the seeds can remain viable on the forest floor for several years. The small seeds are sensitive to soil moisture and temperature.