Salix babylonica Salix babylonica Salix babylonica (Babylon willow or weeping 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 southwest Asia and Europe. "Salix babylonica" is a medium- to large-sized deciduous tree, growing up to tall. It grows rapidly, but has a short lifespan, between 40 and 75 years. The shoots are yellowish-brown, with small buds. The leaves are alternate and spirally arranged, narrow, light green, 4–16 cm long and 0.5–2 cm broad, with finely serrate margins and long acuminate tips; they turn
Salix nigra numerous minute, down-covered seeds. The leaves turn a lemon yellow in the fall. It is typically found along streams and in swamps. "Salix gooddingii" (Goodding's willow) is sometimes included in "S. nigra" as a variety, as "S. nigra" var. "vallicola" Dudley; when included, this extends the species' range to western North America. However, the two are usually treated as distinct species. Another name occasionally used for black willow is "swamp willow", not to be confused with "Salix myrtilloides" (swamp willow). According to the National Register of Big Trees, the largest black willow tree in the US is in Hennepin, Minnesota.