Salix babylonica a gold-yellow in autumn. The flowers are arranged in catkins produced early in the spring; it is dioecious, with the male and female catkins on separate trees. "Salix babylonica" was described and named scientifically by Carolus Linnaeus in 1736, who knew the species as the pendulous-branched ("weeping") variant then recently introduced into the Clifford garden in Hartekamp in The Netherlands. Early Chinese cultivar selections include the original weeping willow, "Salix babylonica" 'Pendula', in which the branches and twigs are strongly pendulous, which was presumably spread along ancient trade routes. These distinctive trees were subsequently introduced into England from Aleppo in
Salix triandra other willows having two or five stamens. The scientific name derives from the male flowers having three stamens. The English common name refers to the similarity in leaf shape to almond leaves. The variety "Salix triandra" var. "hoffmanniana" Bab., found in Great Britain, is distinguished by being smaller (rarely over tall) and densely branched, with smaller leaves 2–7 cm long and 1-2.5 cm wide not glaucous below. It is not considered distinct by all authorities, particularly on continental Europe, so its range outside Britain, if any, is not reported. "Salix triandra" readily forms natural hybrids with "Salix viminalis", the hybrid