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''Morus'', a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the genus has 64 identified species, three of which are well-known and are ostensibly named for the fruit color of the best-known cultivar: white, red, and black mulberry ('' Morus alba'', '' M. rubra'', and '' M. nigra'', respectively), with numerous cultivars. ''M. alba'' is native to South Asia, but is widely distributed across Europe, Southern Africa, South America, and North America. ''M. alba'' is also the species most preferred by the
silkworm The domestic silk moth (''Bombyx mori''), is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of ''Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. It is an economically imp ...
, and is regarded as an
invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...
in Brazil and the United States. The closely related genus '' Broussonetia'' is also commonly known as mulberry, notably the paper mulberry (''Broussonetia papyrifera'').


Description

Mulberries are fast-growing when young, and can grow to tall. The
leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
are alternately arranged, simple, and often lobed and serrated on the margin. Lobes are more common on juvenile shoots than on mature trees. The trees can be
monoecious Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy. Monoecy is conne ...
or
dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...
. The mulberry fruit is a multiple, about long. Immature fruits are white, green, or pale yellow. The fruit turns from pink to red while ripening, then dark purple or black, and has a sweet flavor when fully ripe.


Taxonomy

The taxonomy of ''Morus'' is complex and disputed. Fossils of ''Morus'' appear in the Pliocene record of the Netherlands. Over 150 species names have been published, and although differing sources may cite different selections of accepted names, less than 20 are accepted by the vast majority of botanical authorities. ''Morus'' classification is even further complicated by widespread hybridisation, wherein the hybrids are fertile. The following species are accepted: *'' Morus alba'' L. – white mulberry (China, Korea, Japan) *'' Morus australis'' Poir. – East and South-East Asia *'' Morus boninensis'' Koidz. *'' Morus cathayana'' Hemsl. – China, Japan, Korea *''
Morus celtidifolia ''Morus celtidifolia,'' the Texas mulberry, is a plant species native to South America, Central America, Mexico, and the southwestern United States, ranging from Argentina north as far as Arizona and Oklahoma. In the US, it grows in canyons and o ...
'' Kunth – Texas mulberry (southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, South America) *''
Morus indica ''Morus indica'' is a member of the genus '' Morus'', of the family of flowering plants Moraceae, commonly known as the mulberry family. As with other mulberries, ''Morus indica'' is a deciduous tree. ''Morus indica'' is native to the temperate a ...
'' L. – India, Southeast Asia *''
Morus insignis ''Morus insignis'' is an evergreen tree native to Central and South America, from Guatemala to Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South Am ...
'' Bureau – Central and South America *''
Morus koordersiana Morus may refer to: People * Alexander Morus (1616–1670), Franco-Scottish Protestant preacher * Henryk Moruś (1943–2013), Polish serial killer * Huw Morus (1622–1709), Welsh poet * Thomas More or Morus (1478–1535), English philosopher * M ...
'' J.-F.Leroy *''
Morus liboensis Morus may refer to: People * Alexander Morus (1616–1670), Franco-Scottish Protestant preacher * Henryk Moruś (1943–2013), Polish serial killer * Huw Morus (1622–1709), Welsh poet * Thomas More or Morus (1478–1535), English philosopher * M ...
'' S.S.ChangGuizhou Province in China *''
Morus macroura ''Morus macroura'', also known as the king white mulberry, shahtoot mulberry, Tibetan mulberry, or long mulberry is a flowering plant species in the genus '' Morus'' found in Tibet, the Himalayas, mountainous area of Indonesia, and rain forests o ...
'' Miq. – long mulberry (Tibet, Himalayas, Indochina) *''
Morus mesozygia ''Morus mesozygia'', known as black mulberry or African mulberry, is a small- to medium-sized forest tree of Tropical Africa. Its leaves and fruit provide food for the mantled guereza, a colobus monkey native to much of Tropical Africa, and for t ...
'' Stapf – African mulberry (south and central Africa) *''
Morus microphylla ''Morus celtidifolia,'' the Texas mulberry, is a plant species native to South America, Central America, Mexico, and the southwestern United States, ranging from Argentina north as far as Arizona and Oklahoma. In the US, it grows in canyons and o ...
'' Buckley *''
Morus miyabeana Morus may refer to: People * Alexander Morus (1616–1670), Franco-Scottish Protestant preacher * Henryk Moruś (1943–2013), Polish serial killer * Huw Morus (1622–1709), Welsh poet * Thomas More or Morus (1478–1535), English philosopher * M ...
'' Hotta *''
Morus mongolica ''Morus mongolica'', also described as ''Morus alba'' var. ''mongolica'', is a woody plant native to mountain forests in Mongolia, China, Korea, and Japan. Common names include Mongolian mulberry, ''meng sang'' ( China), and ''ilama'' by nativ ...
'' (Bureau) C.K.Schneid. *'' Morus nigra'' L. - black mulberry (Iran, Caucasus, Levant) *''
Morus notabilis ''Morus notabilis'' is a species of Morus (plant), mulberry found in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of China, at around in elevation. It was first formally named by Camillo Karl Schneider in 1916. It has 2n = 14 chromosomes, suggesting that it is ...
'' C.K.Schneid.Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces in China *'' Morus rubra'' L. – red mulberry (eastern North America) *''
Morus serrata ''Morus serrata'', known as Himalayan mulberry, is a species of mulberry native to the Himalaya and the mountains of southwestern China, at altitudes of up to . It is a small deciduous tree growing to tall. The leaves are long and broad an ...
'' Roxb. – Tibet, Nepal, northwestern India *'' Morus trilobata'' (S.S.Chang) Z.Y.Cao – Guizhou Province in China *''
Morus wittiorum Morus may refer to: People * Alexander Morus (1616–1670), Franco-Scottish Protestant preacher * Henryk Moruś (1943–2013), Polish serial killer * Huw Morus (1622–1709), Welsh poet * Thomas More or Morus (1478–1535), English philosopher * M ...
'' Hand.-Mazz. – southern China In southern Brazil, the mulberry is known as ''amorinha''.


Distribution

Black, red, and white mulberries are widespread in Southern Europe, the Middle East, northern Africa, and the Indian subcontinent, where the tree and the fruit have names under regional dialects. Black mulberry was imported to Britain in the 17th century in the hope that it would be useful in the cultivation of silkworms. It was much used in folk medicine, especially in the treatment of ringworm. Mulberries are also widespread in Greece, particularly in the
Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...
, which in the Middle Ages was known as Morea, deriving from the Greek word for the tree (, ').


Cultivation

Mulberries can be grown from seed, and this is often advised, as seedling-grown trees are generally of better shape and health. Mulberry trees grown from seed can take up to ten years to bear fruit. Mulberries are most often planted from large cuttings, which root readily. The mulberry plants allowed to grow tall have a crown height of from ground level and a stem girth of . They are specially raised with the help of well-grown saplings 8–10 months old of any of the varieties recommended for rainfed areas like S-13 (for red loamy soil) or S-34 (black cotton soil), which are tolerant to drought or soil-moisture stress conditions. Usually, the plantation is raised and in block formation with a spacing of , or , as plant-to-plant and row-to-row distances. The plants are usually pruned once a year during the
monsoon season The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...
to a height of and allowed to grow with a maximum of 8–10 shoots at the crown. The leaves are harvested three or four times a year by a leaf-picking method under rain-fed or semiarid conditions, depending on the monsoon. The tree branches pruned during the fall season (after the leaves have fallen) are cut and used to make durable baskets supporting agriculture and
animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, starti ...
. Some North American cities have banned the planting of mulberries because of the large amounts of pollen they produce, posing a potential health hazard for some
pollen allergy Allergic rhinitis, of which the seasonal type is called hay fever, is a type of inflammation in the nose that occurs when the immune system overreacts to allergens in the air. Signs and symptoms include a runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, red, i ...
sufferers. Actually, only the male mulberry trees produce pollen; this lightweight pollen can be inhaled deeply into the lungs, sometimes triggering asthma. Conversely, female mulberry trees produce all-female flowers, which draw pollen and dust from the air. Because of this pollen-absorbing feature, all-female mulberry trees have an OPALS allergy scale rating of just 1 (lowest level of allergy potential), and some consider it "allergy-free". Mulberry tree scion wood can easily be
grafted Grafting or graftage is a horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the rootstock. The succ ...
onto other mulberry trees during the winter, when the tree is dormant. One common scenario is converting a problematic male mulberry tree to an allergy-free female tree, by grafting all-female mulberry tree scions to a male mulberry that has been pruned back to the trunk. However, any new growth from below the graft(s) must be removed, as they would be from the original male mulberry tree.


Toxicity

All parts of the plant besides the ripe fruit contain a toxic milky sap. Eating too many berries may have a laxative effect. Additionally, unripe green fruit may cause nausea, cramps, and a hallucinogenic effect.


Uses


Nutrition

Raw mulberries are 88% water, 10% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and less than 1% fat. In a reference amount, raw mulberries provide , 44% of the Daily Value (DV) for vitamin C, and 14% of the DV for iron; other
micronutrient Micronutrients are nutrient, essential dietary elements required by organisms in varying quantities throughout life to orchestrate a range of physiological functions to maintain health. Micronutrient requirements differ between organisms; for exam ...
s are insignificant in quantity.


Consumption

As the fruit matures, mulberries change in texture and color, becoming succulent, plump, and juicy, resembling a blackberry. The color of the fruit does not distinguish the mulberry species, as mulberries may be white, lavender or black in color. White mulberry fruits are typically sweet, but not tart, while red mulberries are usually deep red, sweet, and juicy. Black mulberries are large and juicy, with balanced sweetness and tartness. The fruit of the East Asian white mulberry – a species extensively naturalized in urban regions of eastern North America – has a different flavor, sometimes characterized as refreshing and a little tart, with a bit of gumminess to it and a hint of vanilla. In North America, the white mulberry is considered an invasive exotic and has taken over extensive tracts from native plant species, including the red mulberry. Mulberries are used in pies, tarts, wines, cordials, and herbal teas. The fruit of the black mulberry (native to southwest Asia) and the red mulberry (native to eastern North America) have distinct flavors likened to 'fireworks in the mouth'.
Jam Jam is a type of fruit preserve. Jam or Jammed may also refer to: Other common meanings * A firearm malfunction * Block signals ** Radio jamming ** Radar jamming and deception ** Mobile phone jammer ** Echolocation jamming Arts and entertai ...
s and sherbets are often made from the fruit in the
Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...
. The tender twigs are semisweet and can be eaten raw or cooked.


As a supplement

The fruit and leaves are sold in various forms as
dietary supplement A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources or that are synthetic in order ...
s.


Silk industry

Mulberry leaves, particularly those of the white mulberry, are ecologically important as the sole food source of the
silkworm The domestic silk moth (''Bombyx mori''), is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of ''Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. It is an economically imp ...
(''Bombyx mori'', named after the mulberry genus ''Morus''), the cocoon of which is used to make silk. The wild silk moth also eats mulberry. Other
Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...
larvae—which include the common emerald, lime hawk-moth, sycamore moth, and
fall webworm The fall webworm (''Hyphantria cunea'') is a moth in the family Erebidae known principally for its larval stage, which creates the characteristic webbed nests on the tree limbs of a wide variety of hardwoods in the late summer and fall. It is con ...
—also eat the plant. The Ancient Greeks and Romans cultivated the mulberry for silkworms; at least as early as 220 AD, Emperor Elagabalus wore a silk robe. English clergy wore silk vestments from about 1500 onwards. Mulberry and the silk industry played a role in colonial Virginia.


Pigments

Mulberry fruit color derives from
anthocyanin Anthocyanins (), also called anthocyans, are water-soluble vacuolar pigments that, depending on their pH, may appear red, purple, blue, or black. In 1835, the German pharmacist Ludwig Clamor Marquart gave the name Anthokyan to a chemical compo ...
s, which have unknown effects in humans. Anthocyanins are responsible for the attractive colors of fresh plant foods, including orange, red, purple, black, and blue. These colors are water-soluble and easily extractable, yielding natural
food colorant Food coloring, or color additive, is any dye, pigment, or substance that imparts color when it is added to food or drink. They come in many forms consisting of liquids, powders, gels, and pastes. Food coloring is used in both commercial food ...
s. Due to a growing demand for natural food colorants, they have numerous applications in the food industry. A cheap and industrially feasible method has been developed to extract anthocyanins from mulberry fruit that could be used as a fabric dye or food colorant of high
color value Lightness is a visual perception of the luminance (L) of an object. It is often judged relative to a similarly lit object. In colorimetry and color appearance models, lightness is a prediction of how an illuminated color will appear to a stand ...
(above 100). Scientists found that, of 31 Chinese mulberry cultivars tested, the total anthocyanin yield varied from 148 to 2725 mg/L of fruit juice. Sugars, acids, and vitamins of the fruit remained intact in the residual juice after removal of the anthocyanins, indicating that the juice may be used to other food products. Mulberry germplasm resources may be used for: * exploration and collection of fruit yielding mulberry species * their characterization, cataloging, and evaluation for anthocyanin content by using traditional, as well as modern, means and biotechnology tools * developing an information system about these cultivars and varieties * training and global coordination of genetic stocks * evolving suitable breeding strategies to improve the anthocyanin content in potential breeds by collaboration with various research stations in the field of sericulture, plant genetics, and breeding, biotechnology and
pharmacology Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...


Paper

During the Angkorian age of the Khmer Empire of Southeast Asia, monks at Buddhist temples made paper from the bark of mulberry trees. The paper was used to make books, known as ''
kraing Folding-book manuscripts are a type of writing material historically used in Mainland Southeast Asia, particularly in the areas of present-day Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. They are known as ''parabaik'' in Burmese,; . ''samut thai'' in Tha ...
''.
Tengujo is a specialist Japanese paper. It is an extremely thin kōzo paper that is almost transparent. One of its uses is for archival conservation. It has also been used for lighting design. The paper is produced in the Kochi prefecture of Japan by th ...
is the thinnest paper in the world. It is produced in Japan and made with kozo (stems of mulberry trees).


Wood

The wood of mulberry trees is used for
barrel aging A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, u ...
of Țuică, a traditional Romanian plum brandy.


Culture

A
Babylonia Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...
n etiological myth, which Ovid incorporated in his '' Metamorphoses'', attributes the reddish-purple color of the mulberry fruits to the tragic deaths of the lovers Pyramus and Thisbe. Meeting under a mulberry tree (probably the native '' Morus nigra''), Thisbe commits suicide by sword after Pyramus does the same, he having believed, on finding her bloodstained cloak, that she was killed by a lion. Their splashed blood stained the previously white fruit, and the gods forever changed the mulberry's colour to honour their forbidden love. The
nursery rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. From t ...
"
Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush" (also titled "Mulberry Bush" or "This Is the Way") is an English nursery rhyme and singing game. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 7882. It uses the tune which Nancy Dawson danced into fame in ''Th ...
" uses the tree in the refrain, as do some contemporary American versions of the nursery rhyme " Pop Goes the Weasel". Vincent van Gogh featured the mulberry tree in some of his paintings, notably ''Mulberry Tree'' (, 1889, now in
Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...
's Norton Simon Museum). He painted it after a stay at an asylum, and he considered it a technical success.


References


External links


Flora of China: ''Morus''

Flora of North America: ''Morus''


(University of Melbourne)
Propagation (growing) by vegetative method

Propagation (growing) by seed method

photo of 300-year-old Japanese mulberry

Central Sericultural Germplasm Resources Centre, Ministry of Textiles
Government of India
Replant a mulberry tree
article from '' The Times of India''
The Morus Londinium project - Mulberry tree heritage in London, UK
{{Authority control Berries Fruit trees Medicinal plants Moraceae genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus