- Weeping willows are used for timber and medicine.trauerweide image by www.digitalscrapbooking.de from Fotolia.com
Weeping willows (Salix babylonica) are fast-growing, medium to large deciduous trees that grow to maximum heights of 25 meters (82 feet) and widths of 10.6 meters (35 feet). Weeping willow trees are dramatic, with large, sweeping branches abundant with thick, green foliage. Weeping willows are native Chinese trees that are distributed extensively in diverse parts of the world, including New Zealand, Netherlands, South Africa, Nepal, Argentina and Germany. - Timber and wood derived from weeping willow trees are used to make sporting equipment (baseball and cricket bats), furniture, boxes, whistles, baskets, flutes, fish traps and broom handles. The wood is hard and strong and effectively withstands bruises and dents, which is why it is a particular favorite with cricket bat makers.
According to Richard S. Barnett in the book "All Kinds of Scented Wood," willow wood was used extensively to make flooring and the base of carts until it was recently replaced with engineered wood products. - According to Richard S. Barnett, the medicinal uses of weeping willows have been known to ancient healers, including the 5th century B.C. Hippocrates, an ancient Greek physician.
According to R. Vardhana in the book "Direct Uses Of Medicinal Plants And Their Identification," the flowers and leaves of the white weeping willow are added to tea to cure fevers. Its bark is anthelmintic, astringent and tonic and used for the treatment of diarrhea and menstrual irregularities.
According to Gabrielle Hatfield in the "Encyclopedia of Folk Medicine," weeping willow flowers are used in folk medicine to treat burns, warts and to cure earaches and toothaches. Willow bark was chewed as recently as the early 1900s to relieve hangover-related headaches. - Weeping willows are well known for their ornamental value and make beautiful and imposing hedge plants. Due to their massive size and thick foliage, the trees make excellent shade trees. Weeping willow trees make farmland shelterbelts to provide shelter or shade.
Weeping willows prevent water and soil erosion and minimize sediment deposition and wave-shock---reasons due to which they are planted along riverbanks. Weeping willow trees are planted at many contaminated industrial sites to help clear the soil of metal contaminants. The trees are also used to control pollution since they well tolerate sulfur dioxide. - Wood from the weeping willow tree was used as fuelwood, a practice that still continues (as of October 2010) in certain parts of China.
Weeping willow wood pulp is used to make wrapping paper, newsprint paper and Kraft paper.
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