Features

• The bark of the yellow birch makes it an attractive ornamental species for your landscape. The colors vary between amber and silver, with the bark peeling in shreds and rolling up on the trunk. The foliage is green until fall, when it changes to a very showy yellow each year. This makes the yellow birch one of the more interesting birch trees.
  
  

Effects

• You can plant other landscaping plants beneath a yellow birch because the shade cast by this tree is "relatively light," according to the University of Connecticut Plant Database. As a shade tree, yellow birch works in medium to large landscapes, since it has the ability to grow to 100 feet. The effects of its shade will not prevent you from growing grass, wildflowers or shrubs in its vicinity.
  
  

Significance

• As a commercial species, the yellow birch is a significant tree. You can use its close-grained sturdy wood for such purposes as cabinetry, furniture, tool handles, doors and veneers, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. This species of birch is an important tree in the creation of wood alcohol, tars and charcoal. The tree is also an important source of food for wildlife. Birds such as grouse feast on the buds and seeds, while mammals such as deer, porcupines, moose and squirrels consume different parts of the tree.