Examples of Types of Birch Trees

Birches with White Bark

• White bark marked with black lines is the outstanding asset of the European white birch (Betula pendula). Growing to 60 feet high, this birch has drooping branches, and it tolerates the cold in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zone 2. European white birch has insignificant green-yellow color in autumn, notes the Missouri Botanical Garden. The paper birch (Betula papyrifera) is a cousin of the European white birch, featuring the same white bark and tolerance to cold winters. It takes up to four growing seasons for the paper birch to begin showing its white colors. Its fall color is showy, with the leaves changing to yellow.

Asian Birches

• Betula davurica, the Dahurian birch, is an Asian birch that withstands the cold up to USDA zone 5. Dahurian birch grows to 60 feet, serves as a lawn or shade tree and turns yellow in fall. Its bark, which peels away on the younger trees but becomes blocky on older specimens, is of great ornamental value. The mature Dahurian birch bark is a mix of colors, including gray, orange and silver. The monarch birch, Betula maximowicziana, features the largest foliage of any birch species. The leaves reach lengths of 6 inches on this Japanese tree, which grows as tall as 100 feet high in its homeland. Adaptable to USDA zone 5 and warmer regions, monarch birch has shiny, bronze-colored bark when young but gray to whitish bark when mature.

Exfoliating Birches

• The yellow birch {Betula alleghaniensis) grows to 100 feet in the wild. Its silvery-gray to amber-yellow bark peels in thin strips, or it rolls up in bunches on the trunk and larger branches. The yellow birch is cold-hardy to USDA zone 3; this species does not tolerate hot and humid climates. River birch (Betula nigra) is a prominent exfoliating birch known for its multi-colored bark that peels away from the trunk in strips to reveal more colors underneath. River birch is one of the few types of birches able to withstand hot and humid weather, growing from USDA zones 4 through 9. The tree achieves heights between 40 and 70 feet.

Native Birches

• Cool climates suit the sweet birch (Betula lenta) a native North American tree that grows from southern Maine southwestward into Georgia's mountains. The sweet birch has scaly, fissured bark, reports the "National Audubon Society Field Guide to Trees: Eastern Region." It grows to 55 feet as a cultivated tree, with golden fall color that ranks high among the different types of birches. Grey birch (Betula populifolia) is a small native birch, growing between 20 and 40 feet. Often seen with multiple trunks, grey birch has chalky, non-peeling bark and triangular leaves. It grows in USDA zones 3 through 6.