• Birch trees display brilliant fall colors and unique bark texture.Design Pics/Valueline/Getty Images
  
  Birch trees share many characteristics: papery bark, small serrated leaves and a tendency to grow in cool, moist areas. But the different species of birch are not identical, and are relatively easy to tell apart. Birches are commonly used for landscape purposes because they display vibrant fall colors, cast light shade and are relatively easy to transplant. If you plan to add birch trees to your lawn or garden, consult a hardiness zone map to help you decide which varieties are right for the climate and geography of your region.
  
  

White Birch

• White birch is also known as "paper" birch or "canoe" birch, so called because of its bark, which has an increasingly white color and peeling, papery texture with age. Often used in canoe-making by Native Americans, the tree reaches heights of 50 to 70 feet, growing with a loose pyramidal formation that becomes irregularly rounded as the tree matures. White birch grows best in cooler climates and is common in northern North America, south to Pennsylvania and into the northern Rocky Mountains. It is moderately resistant to bronze birch borer, a common pest among birch trees. Plant in a cool, moist area with fairly loose soil and ample sunlight.
  
  

River Birch

• Also called "red birch," river birch has a natural range that extends farther south than white birch. Similar in size and growth formation, river birch can be identified by its bark, which is papery and peeling with a cinnamon-brown color that darkens over the life of the tree, and can also take on a "scaly" appearance. Fairly adaptable, river birch grows best with ample sunlight and soil that is slightly acidic, moist, but well-drained. It also tolerates soggier soils, and often grows along the banks of rivers and streams. More borer-resistant than white birch, it should be planted in spring to help avoid infestation.
  
  

Yellow Birch

• Yellow birch is a native of southeast Canada, the midwestern and northeastern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. It grows to about 75 feet in height, with an irregular crown. The bark is silvery-gray on young trees and gradually takes on a yellow-brown color, also becoming more irregular and peeling with age. Yellow birch grows best in a cool, moist climate, but also needs ample sun exposure, and a moist, well-drained soil. It is perhaps not as well suited to landscaping uses as other birches because it is more susceptible to disease, insect pests and damage.