Salix babylonica (weeping willow, "Shidareyanagi")

Japanese name: シダレヤナギ （枝垂柳）
Scientific name: Salix babylonica

[Overview]
A deciduous tree 20 m tall.
The branches are slender, somewhat glossy, and hang down long.
Young branches are at first covered with fine hairs, which later disappear.
The leaves are simple and alternate, narrowly ovate, 8–13 cm long and 1–2 cm wide, with a pointed tip and fine teeth on the margin.
Young leaves are at first hairy on both sides, later becoming hairless.
The petiole is 0.5–1 cm long.
The plant is dioecious.
The flowers are densely arranged on cylindrical spikes that appear before the leaves unfold, and the spikes curve upward.
The spikes have ovate-elliptic bracts.
The male spikes are 2–4 cm long and 0.7–0.8 cm in diameter.
The female spikes are 1.5–2 cm long and about 0.5 cm in diameter.
The flowers have no petals.
The fruit is a capsule that splits open when ripe, releasing seeds wrapped in cottony hairs called ryujo.

[Uses]
The branches, leaves, bark, flowers and roots are used medicinally.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings.
It prefers sunny, well-drained, moist soil.
For potted plants, water thoroughly when the soil surface begins to dry.
Organic fertilizer in winter alone is sufficient.
Pests and diseases include powdery mildew, rust, longhorn beetles and aphids.

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