| Weeping willow
Threatened
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 Peking Willows planted at Shijiazhuang, south of Beijing, China | ||||||||||||||
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| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
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| Salix babylonica L. | ||||||||||||||
The Weeping willow (Salix x pendulina and Salix x sepulcralis), also known as the Babylon willow or Peking willow, is a species of willow native to dry areas of northern China, but cultivated for millennia elsewhere in Asia, being traded along the silk road to Babylon, hence the scientific name.
It is a medium-sized to large deciduous tree, growing up to 20-25 m tall. It grows rapidly, but has a short lifespan. It has narrow, light green leaves, around 4-10 cm long and 1-2 cm broad. The flowers are catkins produced early in the spring; it is dioecious, with the male and female catkins on separate trees.
Many botanists treat the Chinese Willow Salix matsudana as a synonym of Salix babylonica; it is also native to northern China. The only reported difference between the two is that S. matsudana has two nectaries in each female flower, whereas S. babylonica has only one; however this character is not reliable in many willows (e.g. Crack Willow can have either one or two), so even this difference may mean nothing.
Cultivation and uses
Peking Willow is a popular ornamental tree in northern China, and is also grown for wood production and shelterbelts there, being particularly important around the oases of the Gobi Desert to protect agricultural land from desert winds.
It has also been introduced into many other areas, but has not generally been successful in cultivation outside of ChinaTemplate:Fact, being very short-lived and unsightly due to canker diseases in the more humid climates in much of Europe and North AmericaIt is particularly susceptible to Willow Anthracnose Marssonina salicicola.
Early Chinese cultivar selections include the original Weeping Willow Salix babylonica 'Pendula', in which the branches and twigs are strongly pendulous. However, most Weeping Willows outside of China are a hybrid between this cultivar and the White Willow, which is better adapted to humid leaves.
Leaves
Peking Willow leaves are long and pointed. They have slight notches in the sides. The leaves turn a gold-yellow in autumn and are alternate on the branches.
Reproductive Cycle
The Peking or Weeping Willow, unlike other species of willow has an odd reproductive cycle. Though the willow's reproductive cycle will continue as long as the tree lives, any seeds produced after the tree reaches a certain age (usually between 38-47 years old) are infertile and cannot produce seedlings.
This has caused many environmentalist to closely watch the weeping willow. Because even though they flourish in many areas, if new willows are not grown on a regular basis this amazing tree has a very real possibility of going extinct.
External links
The Salix babylonica derives its name from Psalm 137 ("By the rivers of Babylon"), which laments the exile of the Israelites from their land, Israel, into a strange and unfriendly Babylonia. According to the Psalm, they weep beneath the willow trees on the riverbanks of Babylonia, and thus, the weeping willow is named for one of the more famous places where people lamented beside it.