Salix sepulcralis group Salix sepulcralis group The "Salix sepulcralis" group is a cultivar group containing all cultivars of hybrids between "Salix alba" and "Salix babylonica". The "sepulcralis" or × "sepulcralis" trees are sometimes referred to as white weeping willow or glaucous weeping willow in reference to the mixed appearance from the parent species. It was first described by L. Simonkai in 1890 from trees growing in Romania. The group contains both weeping and nonweeping cultivars, though the best-known of its cultivars is 'Chrysocoma', the most widely grown weeping tree.. Some of the cultivars are hybrids of "S. babylonica" var. "matsudana" 'Tortuosa' and have
Salix alba Pliny the Elder and others believed willow bark could ease aches and pains and reduce fevers. It has long been used in Europe and China for the attempted treatment of these conditions. This remedy is also mentioned in texts from ancient Egypt, Sumer, and Assyria. The first "clinical trial" was reported by Reverend Edward Stone, a vicar from Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire, England, in 1763 with a successful treatment of malarial fever with the willow bark. The bark is often macerated in ethanol to produce a tincture. The active extract of the bark, called salicin, after the Latin name "Salix",