By Beck Sinar (Norwegian Study Centre) 

The weeping willow, famous for its graceful canopy of drooping branches, carries a name as resonant as its appearance. In English, the phrase “weeping willow” dates back to the 1730s, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. The metaphor draws on the tree’s long, downward-sweeping limbs, which resemble falling tears. The word willow itself descends from Old English welig, with deeper roots in Proto-Germanic walgaz. Its linguistic relatives appear in Dutch (wilg) and German (Weide), all evoking supple, slender trees swaying in the wind. The scientific name, Salix babylonica, meanwhile, alludes to Mesopotamian landscapes and to the biblical psalms that describe the exiles of Israel weeping by the rivers of Babylon beneath willows—a connection that has added layers of cultural weight to the tree’s identity.

Across Europe, languages frequently emphasize sorrow. French calls it saule pleureur, Italian salice piangente, Spanish sauce llorón, and Polish wierzba płacząca. Each reflects the same pairing: a native or Latin-derived word for “willow” joined with a verb meaning “to weep” or “to cry.” In the Slavic family, Russian uses плакучая ива (plakuchaya iva), literally “weeping iva,” with iva serving as the common Slavic word for willow. These linguistic choices underscore the shared European tendency to see the tree as a figure of lament.

German and Dutch, however, shift the emphasis slightly. The German Trauerweide and Dutch treurwilg translate as “mourning willow,” focusing not on the act of weeping but on the enduring state of grief. In Scandinavia, the emphasis changes again: Swedish hängpil means “hanging willow,” and Norwegian gråpil (“gray willow”) highlights either its form or silvery foliage rather than emotion.

In Asia, the tree is admired for its appearance rather than sorrowful symbolism. In Chinese, 柳树 (liǔ shù) simply means “willow tree,” while 垂柳 (chuí liǔ) specifies the “drooping willow.” Similarly, Japanese シダレヤナギ (shidare yanagi) translates to “drooping willow,” a name that appreciates the elegance of the hanging boughs without implying grief.

Arabic bridges these traditions: ṣafṣāf bākī (صفصاف باكي) can be rendered “weeping ṣafṣāf,” using the ancient term ṣafṣāf for willow, yet adopting the poetic language of lamentation.

Taken together, these names reveal two distinct cultural patterns. In Europe, the willow is often cast as a tree of sorrow, a natural emblem of tears and mourning. In East Asia, by contrast, the same tree is celebrated for its visual grace and flowing silhouette. This divergence shows how a single botanical form can inspire very different layers of meaning—whether as a symbol of grief, an image of beauty, or a mixture of both. In English, the associations even extended into playful territory: by the late nineteenth century, “weeping willow” had become rhyming slang for “pillow,” though this usage has nearly faded from memory today.

By Surabhi Ranavat (Department of Biology)

The Weeping Willow (Salix babylonica), is one of the most famously misnamed plants in history

Named by Linnaeus in the 1700s, it was assumed the trees arrived to Europe via South West Asia. The name babylonica comes from Psalm 137:

"By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof."

But this tree is native to North China, and arrived to South West Asia in the 1700s via the Silk Route. It was widely cultivated in the Levant by the time European botanists discovered it.

The tree that was referred to as willow was possibly the Euphrates poplar. 

Moreover, the weeping willows that we commonly see are all hybrids!

By Rachel Drinkhill (YESI)

English Cricket Bat Willow (Salix Alba var. caerulea) is uniquely suited to cricket bat manufacture. It is lightweight and appealing to the eye. Though categorised as a hardwood species, it possesses softwood properties. 

Its “diffuse porous” cell structure provides stiffness, density, and excellent impact resistance. It is this impact resistance that sets it apart. 

While other trees may be denser, English Cricket Bat Willow exhibits a similar impact resistance to a tropical hardwood that is ten times denser.

By Gina Lyle, Norwegian Studies Centre

Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows (1908) is a delightful children’s classic about the adventures of four woodland creatures; Mole, Badger, Toad and Ratty (who is really a water vole). The story is full of nature, with lush descriptions of the forest and its waters. The titular willows appear at their best when our characters take a boating trip to a tiny island on the river, where the trees around it create a magical space, shielded and special:

“In midmost of the stream, embraced in the weir's shimmering arm-spread, a small island lay anchored, fringed close with willow and silver birch and alder. Reserved, shy, but full of significance, it hid whatever it might hold behind a veil, keeping it till the hour should come, and, with the hour, those who were called and chosen.” 

Grahame originally planned to call his novel ‘The Mole and the Water Rat’, which does make sense given its main heroes, but the choice of The Wind in the Willows does something a bit more. The alliterative ‘W’ sound makes you blow air through your lips, and you feel just like you are out by the willows on the water on a breezy day! 

By Surabhi Ranavat (Department of Biology) and Joanne Morris (Stockholm Environment Institute York) 

Willows have long been associated with water - they are often used for erosion control on river banks. In fact, willow shoots have been woven into living erosion control panels to try and protect the bank where the river curves sharply and is undercutting the footpath.  This type of ‘soft’ river management, known as spiling, involves weaving live willow rods between live willow stakes set into the river bank.  It has many advantages over defences made of metal or concrete, not least cost and sustainability.

This is possible because willow is so bendy - it is used to weave furniture, fencing and artwork among other things. Why not try your hand at a simple ring, as the basis for a wreath or crown, or a boat or a willow fish, as described in https://childsplayabc.wordpress.com/2023/06/26/willow-trees/.

Soak your willow branches overnight to make them more pliable, then twist a couple together to make a sturdy hoop, into which you can weave leaves, berries or flowers for a wreath or crown. For a boat, weave criss-cross across your hoop and then weave in leaves to fill the gaps for the boat's base.