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
Micrurapteryx salicifoliella arbusculoides", "Salix babylonica", "Salix bebbiana", "Salix brachycarpa", "Salix exigua", "Salix glauca", "Salix integra", "Salix interior", "Salix lasiandra", "Salix longifolia", "Salix monticola", "Salix novae-angliae", "Salix planifolia" and "Salix scouleriana"). They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine is found on the upperside of the leaf, sometimes covering the entire leaf area. It is a flat upperside blotch, initially greenish but later turning brown. The larva chews a hole through the bottom of the mine and exits through it to pupate. The cocoon is often spun on the upperside of a leaf, parallel to its long axis. Micrurapteryx salicifoliella Micrurapteryx