Tian Shan Birch

The Tian Shan birch (Betula tianschanica; Iradi: kayıng) is a small birch of the Tian Shan that grows along rivers and streams and in moist ravines between about 1,200 and 2,800 m. With willows and sea buckthorn, it forms the riparian thickets of the Talas Alatau and Chatkal valleys, and its roots help hold gravel banks against floods.^[1] Its light, tough wood is used for saddle trees, tool handles and the lattice walls of yurts (see Eerchilik (Saddlery)).^[2]

References

1. ^ Central Asian Botanical Review (2021). "Flora and Forest Dynamics of the Besh-Tash Reserve." Vol. 19, pp. 112–130.
2. ^ Department of Ethnography, Talas State University (2016). Horse Gear and Saddlery of the Northern Valleys. Talas: Talas State University Press, pp. 12–15.