Photo Feature
Himalayan Birch
<p><em>Seen here in mid-autumn, on the banks of the Neelum river in Gurez valley, Kashmir, are Himalayan birch </em>Betula utilis<em>, deciduous trees native to the Himalaya. Found at altitudes of above 4,500 masl., birch trees have a range of traditional medicinal uses. Their bark was even used as bhojapatra, a paper-like surface upon which people wrot</em>e. </p>
<p><strong>Photo:Dhritiman Mukherjee</strong></p>