Weeping Willow (Salix sepulcralis)
Description
The Salix sepulcralis group is a cultivar group containing all cultivars of hybrids between Salix alba and Salix babylonica. The sepulcralis or × sepulcralis trees are sometimes referred to as white weeping willow or glaucous weeping willow in reference to the mixed appearance from the parent species. It was first described by L. Simonkai in 1890 from trees growing in Romania. The group contains both weeping and nonweeping cultivars, though the best-known of its cultivars is 'Chrysocoma', the most widely grown weeping tree.. Some of the cultivars are hybrids of S. babylonica var. matsudana 'Tortuosa' and have inheritied from its parent the twisted and contorted branches, as well as being more cold-tolerant, as S. babylonica var. matsudana is native to northern China and Korea. Willows all have abundant watery bark sap, which is heavily charged with salicylic acid, soft, usually pliant, tough wood, slender branches, and large, fibrous, often stoloniferous roots. The roots are remarkable for their toughness, size, and tenacity to life, and roots readily sprout from aerial parts of the plant. The leaves are typically elongated, but may also be round to oval, frequently with serrated edges. Most species are deciduous; semievergreen willows with coriaceous leaves are rare, e.g. Salix micans and S. australior in the eastern Mediterranean. All the buds are lateral; no absolutely terminal bud is ever formed. The buds are covered by a single scale. Usually, the bud scale is fused into a cap-like shape, but in some species it wraps around and the edges overlap. The leaves are simple, feather-veined, and typically linear-lanceolate. Usually they are serrate, rounded at base, acute or acuminate. The leaf petioles are short, the stipules often very conspicuous, resembling tiny, round leaves, and sometimes remaining for half the summer. On some species, however, they are small, inconspicuous, and caducous (soon falling). In color, the leaves show a great variety of greens, ranging from yellowish to bluish.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Magnoliophyta
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Malpighiales
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Family: Salicaceae
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Genus: Salix
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