Use of the wood

The trunk has greyish bark, soft longitudinal grooves and branches of vigorous horizontal growth. Its characteristic of strong roots and a very high ignition point guarantees a worldwide market. Its wood is free of knots, easy to work, resists cracking and warping and weighs three times less than conventional woods; commercially known for its hardness for furniture. Very popular in its native China for reforestation, gaining ever greater importance in the United States; it is also used for windbreaks along roads and as an ornamental tree in parks and gardens for its flowers and its shade tolerance. The burnt wood is used to make charcoal for pyrotechnic gunpowder.