[3] The leaves are rounded, 6–20 millimetres (0.24–0.79 in) diameter, with a bluntly toothed margin.

Leaf growth occurs after snow melt and become red in autumn.

In the UK Betula nana is at its southern range limit, with many populations having declined significantly in recent decades.

[4] In southern Sweden the occurrence of Betula nana in Sund, Ydre is deemed a glacial relict.

[5] It generally favours wet, but well-drained sites, with a nutrient-poor, acidic soil that can be xeric and rocky.