Betula cordifolia young bark is shiny brown with pale brown lenticels. The leaves are alternate, ovate, 6–12 cm long, and double-toothed. As the specific epithet suggests, the leaf base is generally cordate (heart-shaped), however this can be misleading as it is occasionally flat or rounded. The leaves are dotted with many resin glands and the buds are ovoid and blunt. The twigs are yellow-brown to dark-brown and are dotted with resin glands and gray lenticels. They lack the hairs found on "Betula papyrifera". The flowers are catkins, with pollen catkins 2–4 cm long and seed catkins 1–2 cm long. The seed catkins
Cyclocarya female catkins 25–30 cm long at maturity, bearing several small winged nuts with a circular wing 2.5–6 cm diameter right round the nut (instead of two wings at the sides as in "Pterocarya"). Cyclocarya Cyclocarya is a genus of flowering plants in the family Juglandaceae, comprising a single species Cyclocarya paliurus (qing qian liu or wheel wingnut), formerly treated in the genus "Pterocarya" as "Pterocarya paliurus". It is native to eastern and central China. It is a deciduous tree growing to 30 m tall. The foliage is similar to "Pterocarya", with pinnate leaves 20–25 cm long with five to eleven