THE WEEPING WILLOW. 



Sa'lix babylvn'ica L. 



Though of comparatively recent introduction, there 

 is no Willow so popular and familiar, from its ex- 

 ceptional form and beauty, as the Babylonian or 

 "Weeping" species (Salix babylonica L.). It is an 

 interesting- physiological fact that, though the first 

 Weeping Willows introduced into this country, and 

 also the original trees over the tomb of Napoleon 

 at St. Helena, were female, cuttings from those trees 

 have occasionally borne male catkins. In the genus 

 as a whole, the number of stamens, as we have seen, 

 is variable ; but in the Weeping Willow, as in many 

 other species, there are two in the axil of each scale 

 of the male, or " golden palm " catkin, which, how- 

 ever, is little known in this case. 



The Weeping Willow proper seems to be a native 

 of extra- tropical Asia, from Japan and China to 

 Armenia and the banks of the Euphrates, and of 

 Egypt and North Africa ; but pendulous varieties 

 of other species are also known in cultivation. 



Though some kinds of Willow inhabit the barren 

 tops of Alpine mountains, or the equally barren 

 plains of Arctic latitudes, the Weeping Willow agrees 

 with the majority of its genus in frequenting the 

 water-side, or at least some situation where its roots 

 can obtain a good supply of moisture. In such spots 

 it may attain a height of forty or fifty feet in as many 



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