The Betula, or birch, family is a deciduous group of trees with monoecious catkins, meaning that both the male and female catkins are on the same tree. The family has simple, alternatively toothed leaves with slender drooping branches and horizontal markings on their bark called lenticels. The Betula family is native to the northern hemisphere, markedly Asia, Europe, and North America. Divided into two subfamilies, the Betula family is home to the betuloideae, which includes alders (Alnus) and birches (Betula), and the coryloideae which includes hazels (Corylus) and hornbeams (Ostrya).

Members of Betulaceae have been used for economical purposes: timber trees, as the source of hazelnuts as fillberts, as ornamental trees and shrubs, and, in the Betula and annus species, as aids with soil nitrification and stabilizations. The trees of the Betula family are premium lumber trees known for their dense wood and importance in the lumber and furniture industries. The nuts from the hazel tree are popular in desserts and other foods, (notably Nutella!), and can be refined into an oil. Much like the oil produced from the hazel tree, birch bark has been an indigenous skincare and overall health cream for many years, and is made by refining the bark into a paste which can be used to treat wounds, burns, and any other skin problem.