Betula utilis 19th century, Kashmiri pandits reported all of their books were written on Himalayan birch bark until Akbar introduced paper in the 16th century. The Sanskrit word for the tree is "bhûrja"—sharing a similarity with other Indo-European words that provide the origin for the common name "birch". The bark is still used for writing sacred mantras, which are placed in an amulet and worn around the neck for protection or blessing. This practice was mentioned as early as the 8th or 9th century CE, in the Lakshmi Tantra, a Pancaratra text. According to legend, the bark was also used as clothing
Cyclocarya female catkins 25–30 cm long at maturity, bearing several small winged nuts with a circular wing 2.5–6 cm diameter right round the nut (instead of two wings at the sides as in "Pterocarya"). Cyclocarya Cyclocarya is a genus of flowering plants in the family Juglandaceae, comprising a single species Cyclocarya paliurus (qing qian liu or wheel wingnut), formerly treated in the genus "Pterocarya" as "Pterocarya paliurus". It is native to eastern and central China. It is a deciduous tree growing to 30 m tall. The foliage is similar to "Pterocarya", with pinnate leaves 20–25 cm long with five to eleven