Yesterday, temperatures in DC reached the upper 70's and even 80° in some areas! This was why I moved back to the area. Enough of winter, or even chilly temperatures. The warm weather called for a run along the Potomac, where the weeping willows (Salix babylonica 'Babylon', perhaps) have just begun to leaf out.
Apologies for the unfocused pic below - I was after all, on a run and didn't stop for too long to take pics. But you should still be able to see the long, narrowly lanceolate leaves which are also slightly serrated. The plant is in flower too and on some specimens you can observe bright green catkins emerging.
The leaves on Salix are the one of the first to emerge in the spring and one of the last to drop in the fall. Even when they aren't present, however, the bark makes this tree fairly recognizable. Gray bark, with deep fibrous fissures and an overall corky appearance, is specific to this plant.
I hedged my bets when I called this tree "Salix babylonica 'Babylon' perhaps." That's because willows are difficult to accurately identify. They easily hybridize within the genus, so this could be a strange cross of Salix alba (white willow), a weeping cultivar of Salix alba (like 'Tristis') or a cultivar or Salix babylonica (weeping willow). It could even be Salix x blanda (Wisconsin weeping willow). I have called it as Salix babylonica 'Babylon' because, according to Dirr, the true species is quite rare - he even muses that it no longer exists. And this is clearly a weeping form.
Finally, we can't talk about this plant, without mentioning the 1932 song written by Ann Ronnell. It's been covered countless times, but I love the Willie Nelson version, accompanied by Tin Hat Trio. You can listen to the track here.
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