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 kusanoi Salix kusanoi Salix kusanoi is a species of willow in the family Salicaceae. It is endemic to Taiwan. It is threatened by habitat loss. It is a deciduous shrub or small tree growing to tall. The leaves are alternate, 9 cm long and 4 cm broad, with an entire margin; they are green above, and paler below with fine silky hairs along the veins. The flowers are produced in catkins in early spring before or as the new leaves appear; it is dioecious, with male and female catkins on separate plants. The male catkins are 8–9 cm long; the female