White birch is a deciduous small to medium sized native tree. The leaves are alternate, ovate or triangular, five to ten centimeters long. The flowers are male and female flowers in separate catkins two to four centimeters long, the catkins break up at maturity.
The fruits are mature seed catkins that are three to five centimeters long. The bark is thin, smooth, dark red to almost black on young stems, becoming reddish-brown and then bright creamy white.