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The leaves are narrow,
alternate, 7-12 cm long and up
to 18 mm wide. They end in a very slender, tapering point, often turned
in one direction and have a fine, regularly toothed margin. They are
bright green above, bluish-green below, and only hairy, on both surfaces,
when young. The leaf-stalk is very short, under 8 mm in length.
ID
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Weeping Willow
is an introduced, deciduous tree
which grows up to 12 m tall. It is instantly recognised by its slender
'weeping', golden-yellow twigs. The bark is greyish-brown, deeply
and coursely fissured. It is widely planted for ornament on river
banks, pond margins and in parks and gardens.
Male and female
flowers are in catkins which appear
with the leaves on separate trees (dioecious)
in April.
The catkins
are 3-4 cm long. The male catkins
have pale yellow scales and yellow
anthers.
The female catkins
are also yellow. The flowers have very short indistinct styles.
Facts
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The commonest
cultivated 'weeping willow' first introduced to Britain from a German
nursery in about 1908.
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It is probably
a hybrid of garden origin, between
a Chinese species, Salix babylonica and the White Willow,
Salix alba.
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Although the
Latin names link it with willows beside the waters of Babylon the
trees there were poplars
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