🪴 GoDeep
Search
← University Challenge
Portrait of Weeping willow

Nature · Trees

Weeping willow

Introduced hybrid (neophyte) · deciduous, to about 15 m · lakesides, rivers and gardens

Salix × sepulcralis 'Chrysocoma' — Salicaceae

The archetypal weeping willow of British riverbanks and parkland lakes is the golden weeping willow, an artificial hybrid between white willow and the Chinese weeping Babylon willow. It has golden-yellow branchlets, arching branches that trail to the water and long narrow leaves. Its roots are vigorous, so it should not be planted close to buildings or drains.

How to know it

Whole tree of Weeping willow
Whole tree Weepingraf · CC BY-SA 3.0
Leaf of Weeping willow
Leaf Marija Gajić · CC BY-SA 4.0
Bark of Weeping willow
Bark Liné1 · CC BY-SA 3.0

How to spot them

  • ▸Long, flexible golden-yellow branchlets that hang in curtains to the ground or water
  • ▸Narrow lanceolate leaves, yellow-green when young, glossy green later
  • ▸Catkins appearing with the leaves in spring
  • ▸Broad rounded crown to about 15 m
  • ▸Damp soils by rivers, lakes and ponds

How to know it

A tree with long golden-yellow branchlets trailing to the water, raised as a cross between white willow and a Chinese species

Weeping willow — Salix × sepulcralis 'Chrysocoma'.

The weeping habit comes from its Babylon willow parent, and its golden shoots and hardiness from a variety of white willow

Weeping willow.

A lakeside and parkland tree that should not be planted near buildings or drains because of its vigorous roots

Weeping willow.

Its Sepulcralis name refers to its association with graves and mourning

Weeping willow.

A willow whose catkins appear with the young yellow-green leaves in spring, of moist or wet soils

Weeping willow.

The species named from Psalm 137, "by the rivers of Babylon", is one of its parents

Weeping willow.

Quick-fire facts

  • •Salix × sepulcralis 'Chrysocoma' is an artificial hybrid between white willow (S. alba 'Vitellina') and Babylon willow (S. babylonica), RHS says
  • •The white willow parent provides frost hardiness and golden shoots; the Babylon willow provides the strong weeping habit
  • •RHS: to about 15 m tall and wide, loves damp or wet soil, and is hardy and vigorous
  • •Vigorous roots can damage foundations and drains
  • •It is described by the RHS as the most popular weeping tree in warm temperate regions
  • •The hybrid is an introduction, not native
  • •Sepulcralis means of tombs, for its funereal look
  • •Linnaeus named Salix babylonica after Psalm 137, though the biblical tree was probably a poplar
  • •Willow bark contains salicin, the origin of aspirin

Drill it — 7 cards

1 / 7new card

Sources