A deciduous tree growing 50-70 ft (15.2-21.3 m) tall, but can get as tall as 100 ft (30.5 m). The leaves are ovate to heart-shaped, toothed, 2-3 in (5.1-7.6 cm) long, and dark green, turning yellow to orange in fall. The staminate (pollen-producing or male) flowers are in hanging catkins, 3-4 in (7.6-10.2 cm) long, and the pistillate (female) flowers are in semi-erect conelike clusters about an inch long.

Antirheumatic, astringent, lithontripic, salve and sedative (bark)

Plants For A Future
Floridata

The dried and powdered bark has been used to treat nappy rash in babies and various other skin rashes. poultice of the thin outer bark has been used as a bandage on burns. A decoction of the inner bark has been used as a wash on rashes and other skin sores. Taken internally, the decoction has been used to treat dysentery and various diseases of the blood. The bark has been used to make casts for broken limbs. A soft material such as a cloth is placed next to the skin over the broken bone. Birch bark is then tied over the cloth and is gently heated until it shrinks to fit the limb. A decoction of the wood has been used to induce sweating and to ensure an adequate supply of milk in a nursing mother. A decoction of both the wood and the bark has been used to treat female ailments.

James A Duke and Maryl Fulton. Handbook of Medicinal Herbs - 2nd Edition, P: 766, CRC Press July 2002.