iPeking Willow
Peking Willows planted at Shijiazhuang, south of Beijing, China
Conservation status
Secure
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Malpighiales Family: Salicaceae Genus: Salix Species: S. babylonica
Binomial name
Salix babylonica L.

The Peking Willow (Salix babylonica), also known as the Babylon 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, whence the scientific name. Shijiazhuang (Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Shíjiāzhuāng, literally, The Shi Family Village or Stone Family Village) is a prefecture-level city about 320 kilometers south of Beijing and the capital of Hebei province. ... Beijing [English Pronunciation] (Chinese: 北京 [Chinese Pronunciation]; Pinyin: BÄ›ijÄ«ng; IPA: ), a city in northern China, is the capital of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) †Rhyniophyta - rhyniophytes †Zosterophyllophyta - zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses †Trimerophytophyta - trimerophytes Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also called angiosperms) are the dominant and most familiar group of land plants. ... Orders See text. ... Families Family Achariaceae Family Balanopaceae Family Bonnetiaceae Family Caryocaraceae Family Chrysobalanaceae Family Clusiaceae Family Ctenolophonaceae Family Dichapetalaceae Family Elatinaceae Family Erythryloxaceae (coca family) Family Euphorbiaceae (spurge family) Family Euphroniaceae Family Goupiaceae Family Humiriaceae Family Hypericaceae (St Johns wort family) Family Irvingiaceae Family Ixonanthaceae Family Lacistemaceae Family Linaceae (flax family... Genera See text. ... Species About 350, including: Salix acutifolia - Violet Willow Salix alaxensis - Alaska Willow Salix alba - White Willow Salix alpina - Alpine Willow Salix amygdaloides - Peachleaf Willow Salix arbuscula - Mountain Willow Salix arbusculoides - Littletree Willow Salix arctica - Arctic Willow Salix atrocinerea Salix aurita - Eared Willow Salix babylonica - Peking Willow Salix bakko Salix barrattiana... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as  , (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[1] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ... Species About 350, including: Salix acutifolia - Violet Willow Salix alaxensis - Alaska Willow Salix alba - White Willow Salix alpina - Alpine Willow Salix amygdaloides - Peachleaf Willow Salix arbuscula - Mountain Willow Salix arbusculoides - Littletree Willow Salix arctica - Arctic Willow Salix atrocinerea Salix aurita - Eared Willow Salix babylonica - Peking Willow Salix bakko Salix barrattiana... World map showing the location of Asia. ... The Silk Road  â€“ Georgian: აბრეშუმის დიდი გზა; Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: , pinyin: sÄ«chóu zhÄ« lù; Persian: ‎; Râh-e Abrisham; Turkish: ; Kyrgyz: (Äžibek ÄŸolu); Kazakh: ; Hungarian: ; Polish: ; Russian: (VÄ›lkij Å jolkovyj Put ) â€“ or Silk Route is an interconnected series of routes through Southern Asia traversed by caravan and ocean vessel, and... Babylon was a city in Mesopotamia, the ruins of which can be found in present-day Babil Province, Iraq, about 50 miles south of Baghdad. ...

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. Deciduous means temporary or tending to fall off (deriving from the Latin word decidere, to fall off). ... Clivia miniata A cluster of flowers (Clivia miniata) A flower, (<Old French flo(u)r<Latin florem<flos), also known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also called angiosperms). ... A male catkin on a willow Male catkins on a Common Hazel in January before opening Catkins, or aments, are slim, cylindrical flower clusters, wind-pollinated and without petals, that can be found in many plant families, including Betulaceae, Fagaceae, Moraceae, and Salicaceae. ... Plant sexuality deals with the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. ...

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. Binomial name Salix matsudana Koidzumi The Chinese Willow (Salix matsudana), also known as the Hankow Willow or Globe Willow, is a species of willow native to northwestern China. ... In scientific classification, synonymy is the existence of multiple systematic names to label the same organism. ... In Greek mythology, nectar and ambrosia are the food of the gods. ... Binomial name Salix fragilis The Crack Willow (Salix fragilis) is a willow native to Europe and Asia. ...

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. An ornamental plant is a plant that is grown for its ornamental qualities, rather than for its commercial or other value. ... Trunks A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood is derived from woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs. ... Oasis in the Libyan part of the Sahara For other uses, see Oasis (disambiguation). ... The Gobi ( Chinese: [GÄ“bì (Shāmò)] ; Mongolian: Говь [Gowi] ) is a large desert region in northern China and southern Mongolia. ...

It has also been introduced into many other areas, but has not generally been successful in cultivation outside of 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 Willow Anthracnose Marssonina salicicola. Note:This article is about Canker in plants. ... World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is one of the six inhabited continents of the Earth. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ...

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 climates. This Osteospermum Pink Whirls is a successful cultivar. ... // In biology, hybrid has two meanings. ... Binomial name Salix alba L. The White Willow is a willow native to Europe, and western and central Asia. ...

External links

• Salix babylonica (weeping willow) images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu

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.