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The "Sawa-shiba" (Carpinus cordata) belongs to Betulaceae (the Birch family). It is a tall deciduous tree that is native all over Japan, as well as the Korean Peninsula, China and the Ussuri region. This tree grows in mountain dales and can reach about 15 m in height. The barks are pale greenish gray-brown and shallow diamond fissuered when aging. The leaves are broad ovate, alternate with deep heart-shaped bases and irregular fine duplicato-serratus edges. It is borne the flowers in April to May. The male inflorescences are bright yellowish green, drooping and the female ones are covered with bracts. This tree has been used for fuelwood. In Chinese, it is called "千金楡" (qian jin yu).
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