''Morus nigra'', the black mulberry, is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
in the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Moraceae that is
native to southwestern
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
, where it has been cultivated for so long that its precise natural range is unknown.
The black mulberry is known for its large number of
chromosome
A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most import ...
s.
Description
''Morus nigra'' is a
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
tree growing to tall by broad. The
leaves
A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...
are long by broadup to long on vigorous shoots, downy on the underside, the upper surface rough with very short, stiff hairs. Each
somatic cell has 308
chromosome
A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most import ...
s in total, and exhibits tetratetracontaploidy (44''x''), meaning that its
genome
A genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding genes, other functional regions of the genome such as ...
contains seven chromosomes, and each somatic cell has 44 copies of each.
The
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
is a compound cluster of several small
drupe
In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is a type of fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pip'' (UK), ''pit'' (US), ''stone'', or ''pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed ...
s that are dark purple, almost black when ripe, and they are in diameter.
Black mulberry is richly flavoured, similar to the red mulberry (''
Morus rubra'') rather than the more insipid fruit of the white mulberry
(''
Morus alba 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 ...
''). Mulberry fruit color derives from
anthocyanin
Anthocyanins (), also called anthocyans, are solubility, water-soluble vacuole, vacuolar pigments that, depending on their pH, may appear red, purple, blue, or black. In 1835, the German pharmacist Ludwig Clamor Marquart named a chemical compou ...
s.
Sometimes other
mulberry species are confused with black mulberry, particularly black-fruited individuals of the white mulberry. Black mulberry may be distinguished from the other species by the uniformly hairy lower surface of its leaves.
Cultivation and uses
Black mulberries (''Morus nigra'') are thought to have originated in the mountainous areas of Mesopotamia and Persia (i.e.
Armenian highlands
The Armenian highlands (; also known as the Armenian upland, Armenian plateau, or Armenian tableland)Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: ...
). Black mulberry is planted, and often
naturalised, west across much of Europe, including Ukraine, and east into China. Now they are widespread throughout
Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
,
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
,
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
,
Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
,
Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
,
Jordan
Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
,
Palestine
Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
,
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, and
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
.
The fruit is edible
and the tree has long been cultivated for this property. Both the tree and the fruit are known by the Persian-derived names ''toot'' (mulberry) or ''shahtoot'' (شاه توت) (king's or "superior" mulberry), or, in Arabic, as shajarat tukki. Often,
jams and
sherbets are made from the fruit in this region.
The fruit has been present in the
Southern Levant since antiquity. In the
Books of Maccabees, it is noted that the
Greeks
Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
used the fruit to provoke their
war elephant
A war elephant is an elephant that is Animal training, trained and guided by humans for combat purposes. Historically, the war elephant's main use was to charge (warfare), charge the enemy, break their ranks, and instill terror and fear. Elep ...
s in preparation for battle against
Jewish rebels
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
during the
Maccabean Revolt in the 2nd century BCE. The fruit is also mentioned in the
Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...
and later
rabbinic texts. In the 9th century CE,
Al-Kindi referenced the fruit as having healing seeds, while
Ibn Badis, writing in the 11th century, noted its use in the production of
ink.
In Europe, the largest-documented local concentration of black mulberries may be found in the vineyards of
Pukanec
Pukanec ( / ''Puk(k)an(t)z'', ; ) is a village and municipality (historical town) in the Levice District in the Nitra Region of southern Slovakia.
Etymology
The name is probably derived from a personal name Baka, Bak, Bukan/Pukan or potentially ...
in
Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
, which contain 470 black mulberry trees.
The black mulberry was imported into Britain in the 17th century in the hope that it would be useful in the cultivation of silkworms (''
Bombyx mori''). It was unsuccessful in that enterprise because silkworms prefer the white mulberry. However, the plantings have left a legacy of large and old trees in many country house gardens. The
cultivar
A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...
s, ''M. nigra'' 'Chelsea' (
Syn. 'King James'), and ''M. nigra'' 'Jerusalem' have been awarded the
Award of Garden Merit
The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions.
It includes the full range of cultivated p ...
by the
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity.
The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...
. Both cultivars are female (F) and
self-fertile
Self-incompatibility (SI) is a general name for several genetic mechanisms that prevent self-fertilization in sexual reproduction, sexually reproducing organisms, and thus encourage outcrossing and allogamy. It is contrasted with separation of sexe ...
. ''M. nigra'' was much used in
folk medicine
Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...
, especially in the treatment of
tapeworm.
Gallery
Image:Morus nigra leaf.jpg, Leaf of ''Morus nigra''
Image:Ripe fruit of morus nigra.JPG, Ripe fruit and foliage of ''Morus nigra''
Image:Old morus nigra tree.JPG, A centuries-old tree of ''Morus nigra''
Image:Black Mulberry Female Flowers.jpg, Female flowers of ''Morus nigra''
Image:Black mulberry tree in spring.JPG, An old black mulberry tree in spring
Image:Shatoot.JPG, Unripe ''shahtoot'' (Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
)
Image:Shahtoot.JPG, Full-grown ''shahtoot''
Image :%D8%AB%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A9_%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%AA.jpg, From Algeria ''Morus nigra''
References
External links
Flora of China: ''Morus nigra''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q161040
nigra
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Trees of Western Asia
National symbols of Kyrgyzstan
Edible fruits
Fruit trees
Plant dyes
Crops originating from Asia
Garden plants of Asia
Ornamental trees