National Museum of Natural Science

The yellow basket-willow is a deciduous tree. When its branches or leaves are scratched, the wounds oxidize and turn a distinct yellow color. As time passes, the color becomes deeper. This is the origin of its Chinese name and an important basis for identifying this tree species in the wild.

The flowering period of the yellow basket-willow is in spring. It is monoecious with catkin inflorescences. The male inflorescences are pendulous, while the female inflorescences are erect. However, the most striking feature is its fruit. The fruit of the yellow basket-willow is a spherical nut with three yellow membranous bracts at the base. These bracts possess excellent aerodynamic properties, enabling the nuts to be effectively dispersed by wind once mature, thereby expanding their distribution range. Interestingly, the flight mode, flight time, and flight distance of the fruit vary depending on the length ratio of the left, middle, and right wings of the membranous bracts. Those with similar wing lengths tend to fly in a spiral pattern around the seed, with shorter flight times and distances. If the middle wing is longer than the left and right wings, and the left and right wings are of similar length, the fruit flies smoothly with longer flight times and distances; if the length difference is significant, the flight pattern becomes unstable, resulting in shorter flight times.

The yellow basket-willow has multiple uses. Its bark is quite tough and was once used as a material for making ropes. The entire plant is toxic, and early mountain dwellers used to crush its bark and leaves and place them in streams to poison fish, causing them to become paralyzed and float to the surface, where they could be caught.

The yellow basket-willow is distributed in southwestern China, Hainan Island, mainland Southeast Asia, and India, and is widely distributed throughout Taiwan at altitudes of 200 to 1,500 meters in low- to mid-altitude broadleaved forests. It is an important member of Taiwan's forest ecosystem. In the museum it is planted in the Northern Lowland Area of the Botanical Garden.