Tree+Four

Welcome to the Weeping Willow = = ==

Description
It is a large-sized to medium [|deciduous] tree, growing up to 20-25 m tall. It grows rapidly, but has a short lifespan. The shoots are yellowish-brown, with small buds. The [|leaves] are spirally arranged, narrow, light green, 4-16 cm long and 0.5-2 cm broad, with finely serrate margins and long [|acuminate] tips ; they turn a gold-yellow in autumn. The [|flowers] are arranged in [|catkins] produced early in the spring; it is [|dioecious], with the male and female catkins on separate trees.[|[][|1][|]][|[][|3][|]] ||    Leaves ||    Bark ||    Leaf ||
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Saule_pleureur_chaton.jpg/120px-Saule_pleureur_chaton.jpg width="120" height="90" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Saule_pleureur_chaton.jpg"]] Flower

[[|edit]] Taxonomy
The scientific name //babylonica// derives from a misunderstanding by [|Linnaeus] that it was the tree described in the [|Bible] in [|Psalm 137], "By the rivers of Babylon, ... hung our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof ...". However, the tree named //gharab// in early [|Hebrew], is now known as //[|Populus euphratica]//.[|[][|4][|]] Many botanists, notably the Russian willow expert [|Alexey Skvortsov], 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 variable in many willows (e.g., Crack Willow //[|Salix fragilis]// can have either one or two), so even this difference may not be significant.[|[][|4][|]]

[[|edit]] Subdivisions
"Weeping willow" redirects here. For other uses, see [|Weeping Willow (disambiguation)]. 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 China are [|hybrids] between this cultivar, and either White Willow //[|Salix alba]// ([|Salix Sepulcralis Group]) or Crack Willow //[|Salix fragilis]// (//Salix × pendulina// Wenderoth), which are better adapted to the more humid climates of most heavily populated regions of Europe and North America. The most widely grown Weeping Willow cultivar is [|Salix Sepulcralis Group 'Chrysocoma'], with bright yellowish shoots.[|[][|4][|]][|[][|5][|]]

[[|edit]] Ecology
It has also been introduced into many other areas, but has not generally been successfully cultivated outside China, being very short-lived and unsightly due to [|canker] diseases in the more humid [|climates] in much of [|Europe] and [|North America]. It is particularly susceptible to [|canker] disease, Willow Anthracnose (//Marssonina salicicola//) and sensitive to late-spring frosts.[|[][|4][|]][|[][|5][|]] = =

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