[citation needed] It is common along the Himalayan Lowlands, between Kashmir and Western Nepal at elevations between 900 and 3,000 metres.

[4] The commercial collection of its seeds for flour production seems to have impacted on the natural distribution of this species.

[citation needed] Its leaves are used as cattle fodder in parts of Northern India.

It is used in traditional Indian medicine for the treatment of various skin diseases and rheumatism, as well as functioning as an astringent, acrid, and narcotic.

[7] In the UK, the cultivar 'Sydney Pearce'’ has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.