The wood - which is strong and able to be turned easily - is used to make woodenware and gift items, as well as for toys, artificial limbs and fuel wood.

Extracts from the bark are used in the tanning of leather. Some species in the genera produce extracts that are used to make birch beer - an old-fashioned soft drink. Herbalists make a laxative tonic from the leaves, along with treatments for gout, rheumatism and kidney stones.

The leaves and bark have astringent properties that are useful in treating skin eruptions - especially eczema. Birch tea is also said to be effective as a diuretic, and to reduce fevers.

The trees are sometimes grown as ornamentals, but are also planted to control erosion. Since the species will grow in acidic habitats, it is often used to help reclaim areas that have been strip-mined, and have high residual coal acids in the soil.