Small shrubs or trees 2-15 m high. Bark white, reddish brown or reddish white, peeling off with thin flakes horizontally. Young shoots hairy, older shoots bare. Leaves ovate or rhomboid, 2.5-8.2 cm x 1.8-6.2 cm.
Requires a sunny or semi-shaded position, preferably on moist, acidic, well-drained loamy soils.
Frost tolerant (w/ USDA Zone 4) Widely distributed in Central Asia, from Kazakhstan through Afghanistan and the Himalayas of Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan to central China. A sacred plant in the Himalayan region.
Use as in many cases of wood. It is very hard, heavy and brittle. The inner bark is used as paper, mainly for inscriptions of religious texts, and also in packaging.
Its varieties are used as ornamental trees in gardens.
