Hiordt sent a description of the tree to the University of Uppsala botanist Carl Linnaeus.

In that same year, the first eight Betula pendula 'Dalecarlica' were exported to Pretoria, South Africa, from a nursery in Germany, by an avid tree lover, Karl Ernst Haese.

Ornäs birch trees grow to a height of 20–25 metres (66–82 ft), and have a rounded, somewhat uneven crown.

The genuine Ornäs birch can be distinguished by its growth-form, and in that its leaves are more deeply indented than the other varieties.

Male and female flowers are present, and the Ornäs birch can be propagated from seed, cuttings, or grafting onto normal Betula pendula rootstock.