Salix babylonica – Weeping Willow
This gracefully branching tree generally grows 30 to 50 feet tall, and just as wide. Although the Salix babylonica species was thought to have been from Babylon, its origin is actually China. It is thought that the tree may have been transported to Babylon along the Silk Road trade route from China through Asia and the Middle East.5 The Weeping Willow is commonly portrayed in many pen and ink paintings from China and Japan. Claude Monet painted a series of Weeping Willow paintings capturing the texture, color, and form of a Weeping Willow planted at the edge of his water lily garden in Giverny, France. Willow branches have also been found to be useful for creating art. The branches are used to make charcoal for drawing. They are also used for creating living sculptures by planting live willow rods in the ground and then weaving them into shapes which take root and continue to grow.
Dr. Leonard Weber
Nature Guide and Professor Emeritus, University of Detroit Mercy
Dr. Leonard Weber has called Detroit home for the last 46 years. He conducts nature observations along the Detroit River and hosts nature walks in Eliza Howell Park. His favorite place along the Detroit Riverfront is Milliken State Park Wetlands. He is one of thirteen children.
Leonard’s favorite tree:
“Sycamores are the bee’s knees.”
This Exhibit Took Place Along the Detroit Riverfront September 1-30