Willow are very cross-compatible, and numerous hybrids occur, both naturally and in cultivation. A well-known ornamental example is the weeping willow ("Salix × sepulcralis"), which is a hybrid of Peking willow ("Salix babylonica") from China and white willow ("Salix alba") from Europe. The hybrid cultivar 'Boydii' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Numerous cultivars of "Salix" L. have been developed and named over the centuries. New selections of cultivars with superior technical and ornamental characteristics have been chosen deliberately and applied to various purposes. Most recently, "Salix" has become an important source for bioenergy production and for
Salix tetrasperma and southeastern Asia, including India, Pakistan, Nepal, Laos, and Thailand. In Manipur, in NE India, the new flowers of Indian willow, locally known as ঊযুম ("ooyum") are eaten, and are considered delicious. In Maharashtra, this tree is called "walunj". It can be found in Pune, Satara, Sangli, and Kolhapur. Salix tetrasperma Salix tetrasperma, commonly called Indian willow, is a medium-sized tree of wet and swampy places, shedding its leaves at the end of monsoon season. It flowers after leafing. The bark is rough, with deep, vertical fissures and the young shoots leaves are silky. The leaves are lance-like, or ovate-lancelike,