Babylon Weeping Willow

Otherwise known as the Peking Willow (Salix babylonica), this is the tree that a lot of people think of appearing near lakes or at graveyards.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salix_babylonica

 Obviously, in the correct landscape (which is the point of the class I'm doing this blog for, at the moment) this tree is actually really gorgeous. Weeping branches are very easily identifiable: 5th graders know what this tree is and I remember thinking they were the coolest looking things ever. I grew up around a lot of pine, and these soft, flowy trees were a very light, gentle contrast to such a hard, enduring type of plant.
These are pretty good at softening hard corners, or otherwise adding some grace or a feeling of gentleness to the landscape. It's good for shade, and I remember being a kid and watching a friend's parents make out underneath one - so there is some romantic appeal to it, I suppose. People seem to feel comfortable around these trees.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salix_babylonica

 I've never really studied the flowers, and my initial thought is that they look like the best reason to sneeze ever. We won't be dealing with the flowers much this semester, I expect: I don't remember seeing willows flower in the fall, but I could be wrong. That's happened before (rarely. Ha.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salix_babylonica

 This flowy plant likes water. From how things sound, I wouldn't end up making this an urbanite type of tree. It needs space for multiple reasons. For one, it likes to seek out water. Remember how I said people tend to remember seeing it near ponds? It prefers seeking out water with its roots with some efficiency. This tree shouldn't be put near gutters or other water-collection (pipes, sewer, wells, septic tanks and lines) that you'd like to keep intact. If you have a big old lake, then obviously this tree will be perfectly happy - given it has enough space to grow. This pond idea has a perk, which I'll get into next.






This is a close-up of some bark! Look at it! Bark!
The native Americans chewed on the bark for a numbing effect. Salicaeae - the unsynthesized source of Aspirin - is a natural wildlife repellent. To humans it's not so bad (convenient sometimes), but I'm sure it's a deterrent to small woodland bugs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salix_babylonica

The bark is a bit messy looking, in my opinion. The coloration is notable, and as I write this I noticed something: with the green growth cut out of the equation, this reminds me of how I'd picture a more arid-landscape tree's bark looking like. It looks extra dry and unhappy. There's no real uniform pattern or design going on (unlike the pines I've seen, for instance; I'm not saying I'd mistake this tree for a pine initially, but what if I had to identify this without green growth or flowers? I'd hope it wouldn't just be from bark, but who knows what people will come up with?) It's pretty rough and otherwise grooved.

The wood itself is weak; the tree grows quickly, and there seems to be a decent correlation between growth rate and wood hardness. The tree likes to grow with some room, and if in compacted corners it likes to drop limbs. In general, from how things sounded, this is pretty inevitable.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salix_babylonica 

The leaves are long and serrated on the edges, with a rough underside. They're also similar to Willow Oak (which I'll get into later) but oaks are a completely different matter and one should be able to tell these trees apart.

The tree looks similar to a Black Willow, but the BW isn't as pretty and flowy as this. If one has the space (and water source) willing to dedicate to a willow, then I would grab the Babylon.

Black Willow (Salix Nigra)
http://texastreeid.tamu.edu/images/TreeImages/willow_black150.jpg

This is a Black Willow. To me it's just a tree. I think I'd grab a maple over this (especially a Japanese Red)