Salix babylonica but beyond China, it has not generally been as successfully cultivated as some of its hybrid derivatives, being sensitive to late-spring frosts. In the more humid climates of much of Europe and eastern North America, it is susceptible to a canker disease, willow anthracnose ("Marssonina salicicola"), which makes infected trees very short-lived and unsightly. "Salix babylonica" (Babylon willow) has many cultivars, including: Various cultivars of "Salix matsudana" (Chinese willow) are now often included within "Salix babylonica", treated more broadly, including: Yet other weeping willow cultivars are derived from interspecific "Salix" hybrids, including "S. babylonica" in their parentage. The most widely
Salix babylonica to northern China, "Salix matsudana" (Chinese willow), is now included in "Salix babylonica" as a synonym by many botanists, including the Russian willow expert Alexey Skvortsov. The only reported difference between the two species is "S. matsudana" has two nectaries in each female flower, whereas "S. babylonica" has only one; however, this character is variable in many willows (for example, crack willow "[Salix fragilis]" can have either one or two), so even this difference may not be taxonomically significant. "S. babylonica," especially its pendulous-branched ("weeping") form, has been introduced into many other areas, including Europe and the southeastern United States,