Betula utilis, the Himalayan birch (bhojpatra, Sanskrit: भूर्ज bhūrjá), is a deciduous tree native to the Western Himalayas, growing at elevations up to 4,500 m (14,800 ft).

[4] Selected varieties are used for landscaping throughout the world, even while some areas of its native habitat are being lost due to overuse of the tree for firewood.

Betula utilis was described and named by botanist David Don in his Prodromus Florae Nepalensis (1825), from specimens collected by Nathaniel Wallich in Nepal in 1820.

[7] In its native habitat, B. utilis tends to form forests, growing as a shrub or tree reaching up to 20 m (66 ft) tall.

[9] The bark of Himalayan birch was used centuries ago in India as a writing surface for manuscripts of Sanskrit literature, particularly in historical Kashmir.

[8] Deforestation due to overuse of the tree has caused loss of habitat for many native groves of B. utilis (locally called bhojpatra in the Indian Himalaya).

The first high-altitude bhojpatra nursery was established in 1993 at Chirbasa, just above Gangotri, where many Hindus go on pilgrimage to the source of the sacred Ganges river.

The following have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:- The bark of 'Wakehurst Place Chocolate', as the name implies, is dark brown to nearly black.