birch family


noun
  1. the plant family Betulaceae, characterized by deciduous trees having simple serrate leaves, male flowers in drooping catkins, female flowers in short clusters, and one-seeded nuts, and including the alder, birch, hazel, and hornbeam.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use birch family in a sentence

  • THE blue beech, or American hornbeam, belongs to the birch family rather than to the beeches.

    Forest Trees of Illinois | Fuller George D.
  • The white bark of this European poplar reminds us of the birch family, though it has no silky fringe shedding from the surface.

    Trees Worth Knowing | Julia Ellen Rogers