Red birch, big trees, high up to 30 meters; bark reddish brown or purple, shiny and powdery, showing lamellar peeling, papery; branches reddish-brown, glabrous; branchlets purplish red, glabrous, sometimes sparsely resin glands; bud scales glabrous, only the edge of a staple fiber batting. Leaves ovate or ovate-oblong, 3-8 cm long, 2-5 cm wide, apex acuminate, base rounded or slightly heart-shaped, less broadly cuneate, margin with irregular heavy serrated, sharp teeth often horny, dark green above, hairless or childhood sparsely villous, pale green below, dense glandular dots along the veins sparsely white villous, lateral veins 10-14 pairs, axillary vein is usually no room bearded, sometimes with sparse beard hair; petiole 5-15 cm long, sparsely villous or glabrous.

　　Male inflorescence cylindrical, 3-8 cm long, 3-7 mm in diameter, sessile; bud scales purple, only the edge of the ciliated.

　　Infructescences cylindrical, solitary or 2-4 pieces arranged in both racemose, 3-4 cm long, about 1 cm in diameter; peduncle slender, about 1 cm, sparsely pubescent; fruit bud length 47 cm, the lobes oblong or lanceolate, top round, side lobes suborbicular, middle lobe long and 1/3. Nutlets ovoid, 2-3 mm long, the upper sparse pubescent, membranous wings wide and 1/2 of the fruit.