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 floridana Salix floridana Salix floridana, the Florida willow, is a species of willow in the family Salicaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States in northern Florida and southwestern Georgia. "Salix floridana" is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 6 m tall. The leaves are alternate, 5–15 cm long and 2–5 cm broad, with a very finely serrated margin; they are green above, and paler below with short whitish hairs. The flowers are produced in catkins in early spring before the new leaves appear; it is dioecious, with male and female catkins on separate plants. The male catkins