‘柜科’ (guì kē) is the Chinese botanical term for the willow family, scientifically known as Salicaceae. It is a taxonomic family of flowering plants that includes willows (Salix), poplars (Populus), and related genera. Though the character 柜 (guì) literally means 'cabinet' or 'wardrobe', in this compound it is a phonetic loan character—its pronunciation matches the historical name for willows in classical botanical nomenclature, not its everyday meaning. The second character 科 (kē) consistently means 'family' in biological classification, just as in other plant or animal families like 蔷薇科 (rosaceae) or 猫科 (Felidae).

This term appears almost exclusively in scientific, academic, or horticultural contexts—such as botany textbooks, plant identification guides, or ecological research—and is rarely used in daily conversation. Native speakers typically refer to individual plants (e.g., 柳树 liǔshù 'willow tree') rather than the family name unless discussing taxonomy or plant evolution.