Himalayan alder (utis)

Alnus nepalensis

The shade tree of Sikkim's cardamom and Darjeeling's hill farms: fast, nitrogen-fixing and easy to lop. It spreads in Hawaiʻi, so plant it only in its home hills.

Type: canopy tree · native and wild plants
Hardiness: zones 8 to 11
Light: full sun
Size: about 60 ft tall, 30 ft wide
From: Himalaya from Pakistan to Yunnan
Here: Too tender to overwinter outdoors on the Lake Erie shore (zone 6b to 7a): grow it in a pot and bring it in, or treat it as an annual.

Good for: fixing nitrogen in the soil, wildlife, mulch and biomass.

Native to: Himalaya & Indian hill country. Hardy in zones 8 to 11.

The story

Utis is the working tree of the eastern Himalaya. In Sikkim, large cardamom has been grown for generations under its shade, and the alder's root nodules fix nitrogen that feeds the spice and the soil. Hill farmers lop its branches for firewood and mulch.

Planting

Full sun, moist ground, even on steep, disturbed slopes and landslide scars. Grows very fast from seed or nursery seedlings.

Growing

Lop the lower branches every few years to let light in and drop the leaves as mulch. Plant shade-loving crops such as large cardamom beneath it.

Harvest and use

Not a food plant: grown for shade, nitrogen, firewood, mulch and slope stabilisation.

What to watch for

It has spread into forests in Hawaiʻi; plant it only in its home range. Short-lived for a tree and weak-wooded in storms.

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General guidance, not professional advice. Conditions vary by yard and year; for local specifics ask your county extension office. Never eat a wild plant you cannot identify with certainty. Traditional uses are shared as history, not medical advice. © 2026 Sean Priest · Irie Orchard. Terms & credits · Privacy · Home