Ulmus wallichiana var. tomentosa was identified by Melville & Heybroek after the latter's expedition to the Himalaya in 1960.
The tree is very similar to Ulmus wallichiana subsp. wallichiana, but distinguished by young stems and lower surfaces of leaves densely white-tomentose; the samarae are uniformly hirsute.
The species has a high resistance to the fungus Ophiostoma himal-ulmi endemic to the Himalaya and the cause of Dutch elm disease there.
The tree is not known to be in cultivation in the West.