Japan Flora: Tree or large shrub with gray-brown to gray-white bark peeling off into thin pieces, the branchlets resinous when young, soon becoming brownish purple; leaves deltoid-ovate to broadly so, 5-10 cm. long, 4-7 cm. wide, acuminate, irregularly mucronatetoothed, rounded to shallowly cordate, thinly pilose on nerves
beneath or glabrous except for axillary tufts of brown hairs, the lateral nerves of 7 to 12 pairs, the petioles 1-3.5 cm. long, usually glabrous; fruiting aments 2-3.5 cm. long, 8-10 mm. in diameter, the midlobe linear-lanceolate, the lateral ones nearly orbicular, ascending, 1/3-1/2 as long as the midlobe; nuts broadly obovate, puberulous above, 2-3 mm. long, the wing narrower than die nut. June-July. Mountains; 

Hokkaido, Honshu (centr. and n. distr.), Shikoku; extremely variable. Kuriles, Sakhalin, Kamchatka, and Korea.

var. japonica (Shirai) Koidz. Leaves deltoid-ovate, the lateral nerves of 14 to 15 pairs, the fruiting scales with a nar-row midlobe and rather spreading lateral lobes. Honshu (centr. distr. and Kanto Distr.).

China Flora: Tree, up to 20 m tall; bark grayish white, flaking. Young branches densely covered with long villous hairs and resin glands. Bud scales densely covered with silky hairs. Leaves ovate, broadly ovate or triangular ovate, 2-7 cm long, pointed or short-tailed, sparsely covered with long villous hairs above, covered with long villous hairs and resin glands below, with irregularly cuspidate double serrations, 8-12 pairs of lateral veins; petiole 1-2.4 cm long. Female inflorescence ovoid or oblong-globose, 1.5-2.7 cm long, peduncle (1) 3-6 mm long; bracts glabrous, middle lobe oblanceolate, lateral lobes slightly shorter than middle lobe. Nutlets obovate or obovate-elliptic, 2.5-3 cm long, membranous wings 1/3-1/2 as wide as the fruit.

It is native to Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia and Hebei. It grows in mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forests at an altitude of 1,000-1,700 meters or in pure forests in wetlands near streams. It is also distributed in Japan, northern Korea and Kamchatka, Russia. The material is relatively hard and is used for construction, utensils, matchsticks, sleepers, etc. The leaves can be used as dyes

[translated from Higher Plants of China]