Salix babylonica grown weeping willow cultivar is "Salix × sepulcralis" 'Chrysocoma', with bright yellowish branchlets. 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, protecting agricultural land from desert winds. The epithet "babylonica" in this Chinese species' scientific name "(S. babylonica)," as well as the related common names "Babylon willow" or "Babylon weeping willow", derive from a misunderstanding by Linnaeus that this willow was the tree described in the "Bible" in the opening of Psalm 137 (here in Latin and English
Salix fragilis also spreads by root suckers, expanding into pure 'groves'. "Salix fragilis" is cultivated as a fast-growing ornamental tree. The cultivar "Salix fragilis" 'Russelliana' (syn. "S. fragilis" var. "russelliana" (Sm.) Koch) is by far the most common clone of crack willow in Great Britain and Ireland, very easily propagated by cuttings. It is a vigorous tree commonly reaching tall, with leaves up to 15 cm long. It is a female clone. "S. fragilis" has escaped cultivation to become an invasive species in various parts of the world, including: New Zealand; the upper half of the United States; and South Africa. In