Birch Trees in Autumn

• Birch trees tend to produce bright yellow foliage in the autumn. Kevin Arnold/Digital Vision/Getty Images

  Birch trees (Betula species) occur primarily in northern geographical ranges, according to the field guide "Eastern Trees." As deciduous trees, birch trees herald the autumn by changing their foliage color and shedding their leaves. Many species also drop seeds, which will grow into the next spring's seedlings.

Paper Birch

• The paper birch (Betula papyrifera) resides in the northern United States and into Canada. Distinguished by its papery white bark, it reaches up to 80 feet and grows in open woodlands. The paper birch flowers in the spring, producing flowers on strands called catkins that drop in late summer into early autumn, a pattern typical for birches. The University of Connecticut Department of Horticulture describes the paper birch's heart-shaped autumn foliage as bright yellow, "dependable and showy."

Gray Birch

• The gray birch (Betula populifolia) ranges primarily in New England south to Pennsylvania, although it occurs in scattered patches further south, through the Appalachian Mountains. With its white bark and heart-shaped leaves, the gray birch closely resembles the paper birch. Its catkins are stubbier, only reaching a little over an inch, and dropping from the tree in early autumn. Like the paper birch, the gray birch also announces autumn with yellow foliage that tends to be showy.

Yellow Birch

• Unlike its relatives, the bark of the yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) is shiny yellow and peels off in small strips. The yellow birch occurs in New England, through the Great Lakes region and into southeastern Canada. Upright catkins produced from spring flowers ripen in late summer into early autumn, according to the U.S. Forest Service, but do not drop from the tree until cold weather strikes, usually in October. The next season's male catkins form during the autumn months and become encased in protective buds for pollen protection the following season. Like its relatives, the yellow birch's foliage turns yellow in the fall.

River Birch

• The river birch (Betula nigra) inhabits a more southerly range than other birches, extending from Pennsylvania and into Florida and east to Texas. Its reddish-brown bark peels off in large patches. According to the U.S. Forest Service, the river birch is the only birch tree that does not drop catkins in the fall, instead keeping them on the tree to overwinter and fall the following spring. Although the river birch also produces yellow foliage in the autumn, the leaves drop from the tree faster than they do from other birch species, and the University of Connecticut Department of Horticulture declares the river birch inferior to its relatives for fall color.