When do willows usually lose their leaves? When will it germinate and blossom? What are the common varieties?

Willow is a general term for a class of plants. There are about 520 species of this genus in the world, mainly in the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. There are 257 species, 122 varieties and 33 forms in China. The willow usually begins to sprout in March in spring and blossoms at the same time, and leaves fall in December. The caterpillar-like thing we see when the willow germinates is its catkin. Common varieties are weeping willow, dry willow, firecracker willow, white willow and so on.

1. Weeping willow

Alias water willow, willow, weeping willow, weeping willow. Mainly distributed in Zhejiang, Hunan, Jiangsu, Anhui and other places. Branchlets slender and pendulous, yellowish brown. Leaves alternate, lanceolate or strip-lanceolate, 8-16cm long, apex acuminate, base cuneate, glabrous or young leaves minutely hairy, serrulate, stipules lanceolate. The flowering period is from March to April and the fruit ripening stage is from April to June.

Weeping willow has slender branches and rapid growth, and has been deeply loved by the Chinese people since ancient times. It is most suitable to be planted at the edge of the water, such as bridgeheads, ponds, rivers, lakes and so on. Planting with peach blossoms can form a peach red and willow green landscape, which is one of the characteristic planting ways of spring scenery in Jiangnan gardens. It can also be used as shade trees, street trees and highway trees. It is also suitable for factory greening and is an important tree species for embankment and bank protection. Wood can be used for furniture; branches can be woven into baskets; bark contains tannin and can be extracted from tannin. Leaves can be used as fodder for sheep.

two。 Salix mandshurica

Alias river willow, river willow, straight willow. Distributed in North America, Europe, Russia, China, Canada, Colombia, Japan. It is up to 20 meters high and has a breast diameter of 80 centimeters. Large branches obliquely upward, crown broadly rounded; bark dark gray-black, grooved; branches slender, erect or obliquely spreading, light brownish yellow or greenish, later brown, glabrous, young branches hairy.

With soft branches and plump crowns, Salix is a commonly used shade tree and street tree in northern China. Often cultivated on the banks of rivers and lakes or alone on the lawn, opposite planted on both sides of the building. It is also used for highway trees, shelterbelts, sand wasteland afforestation, rural "four sides" greening, etc., and is a dense source tree species in early spring. Shelterbelt and greening tree species can also act as timber tree species.

3. Firecracker willow

Firecracker willows can be up to 20 meters high and 100 centimeters in breast diameter. The crown is round or oblong, the bark is dark black and furrowed; the branchlets are brownish green, stout, glabrous, glossy and pubescent at the beginning of the sprouting branches. It is introduced in Heilongjiang and Liaoning and cultivated in Harbin. It is distributed in Europe and the Soviet Union. The wood is soft and can be used for construction.

4. White willow

Also known as Sugheti (Wei name), Liu Mao. Distributed in Xinjiang, Gansu, Qinghai, Xizang and other places. As high as 20 (25) meters, breast diameter up to 1 meter. Crown spreading; bark dark gray, deeply longitudinally lobed; young branches silver-white tomentose, old branches glabrous, light brown. Buds Adnate, 6 mm long, 1.5 mm wide, acute. Leaves lanceolate, linear-lanceolate, broadly lanceolate, oblanceolate or Obovate-lanceolate, 5-12 (15) cm long and 1-3 (3.5) cm wide, apex acuminate or long acuminate, base cuneate, young leaves silvery on both sides, often glabrous above adult leaves, slightly tomentose or subglabrous below, lateral veins 12-15 pairs, spreading at an angle of 30-45 degrees, margin serrulate Petiole 0.2-1 cm long, with white sericeous hairs; stipules lanceolate, with appressed hairs, margin with glandular spots, early deciduous. Ye. Bud and root can be used as medicine, clear heat and detoxification, dispel wind and dehumidification.