The "Yasha-bushi" (Alnus firma) belongs to Betulaceae (the Birch family). It is a tall deciduous tree that is native to the Pacific Ocean Side of Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu of Japan. This tree grows in sunny waste places, and can grow well in barrens because of cohabitting with root nodule bacterium. The leaves are alternate. It is borne yellowish grenn flowers in March. The male inflorescences are drooping from the terminal branches or axils, and the 1-2 female ones are small and erect. The Japanese name is derived from the shape of the fruits, which ripen from October to November, looking like a "yasha" (Yakshas) and containing tannin, like the "bushi" (sumac gall).