Morus rubra is a fruit and plant of the Mulberry family.
There are many species of mulberries in the family Morus and they are grown in many world regions.The plant has three main species that are named for the fruit color of the best-known one: white, red, and black mulberry.The name white mulberry came about because the first specimen named by European taxonomists were a cultivated version of the black fruit.White mulberry is a native of South Asia and is widely distributed across Europe, Southern Africa, South America and North America.In Brazil and the United States, it is considered an invader.[3]
The paper mulberry is one of the closely related genera of Broussonetia.[6]
When young, mulberries can grow to 80 feet tall.The leaves are arranged in a way that makes them easy to see.On juvenile shoots, lobes are more common than on mature trees.The trees can be either monoecious or dioecious.[5]
The mulberry fruit is long and multiple.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.[2][4]
The Morus Taxonomy is disputed.There are fossils of Morus in the Netherlands.Over 150 species names have been published, and although differing sources may cite different selections of accepted names, only 10–16 are generally cited as being accepted by the vast majority of botanical authorities.Morus classification is even more complicated by widespread hybridisation.
Black, red, and white mulberries can be found in Southern Europe, the Middle East, northern Africa and the Indian subcontinent.The fruit in this region is used to make jams and sherbets.In the 17th century, black mulberry was imported to Britain to be used in the cultivation of silkworms.It was used in folk medicine to treat ringworm.In the Middle Ages, the word for the tree was mouria, meaning "morea" in Greek.
Mulberries can be grown from seed, and this is often advised, as seedling-grown trees are generally of better shape and health.It can take up to ten years for a Mulberry tree to bear fruit.Mulberries can be planted from large cuttings.The mulberry plants can grow to a crown height of 1.5 to 1.8 m (5 to 6 ft) from ground level and a stem of 10–13 cm (4–5 in).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 or S-34, which are tolerant to drought or soil-moisture stress conditions.The plantation is usually raised and in block formation with a spacing of 1.8 m (6 by 6 ft), or 2.4 m (8 by 8 ft) as row-to-row distances.During the monsoon season, the plants are usually trimmed to a height of 1.5–1.8 m (5–6 ft) and allowed to grow with a maximum of 8–10 shoots at the crown.Depending on the monsoon, leaves can be picked three or four times a year.After the leaves have fallen, the tree branches are cut and used to make baskets.
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 sufferers.The lightweight pollen from the male mulberry trees can enter the lungs and cause asthma.Female mulberry trees produce all-female flowers, which draw dust and pollen from the air.All-female mulberry trees have an allergy scale rating of just 1 and some consider it "allergy-free".[9]
During the winter, mulberry tree scion wood can be used on other mulberry trees.A common scenario is to convert a problematic male mulberry tree to an allergy-free female tree by using all-female tree scions.The original male mulberry tree requires any new growth from below to be removed.[13]
There is less than 1% fat in raw mulberries.In a 100 g reference amount, raw mulberries provide 180 kJ (43 kcal), 44% of the Daily Value for vitamins C and iron, and other micronutrients are insignificant.
As the fruit matures, mulberries become plump, juicy and similar to a berry.White mulberries can be white, lavender or black in color.White mulberry fruits are usually sweeter than red mulberries.Black mulberries are large and juicy.[5]
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.The red mulberry is an example of a native plant that has been taken over by the white mulberry.[15]
The fruit is used in pies, tarts, wines, cordials, and herbal teas.The black mulberry and the red mulberry have distinct flavors that are likened to fireworks in the mouth.There are no comments at this time.
The fruit and leaves can be used as supplements.The fruit and green parts of the plant have a white sap that may be toxic or hallucinogenic.[16]
Mulberry leaves are important as the sole food source of the silkworm and the cocoon which is used to make silk.The mulberry is also eaten by the wild silk moth.The common emerald, lime hawk-moth, sycamore moth, and fall webworm all eat the plant.[21]
At least as early as 220 AD, Emperor Elagabalus wore a silk robe, as the Ancient Greeks and Romans cultivated the black mulberry for silkworms.Clergy in England wore silk vestments from about 1500 onwards.The silk industry played a role in Virginia.[22]
There are unknown effects on humans of mulberry fruit color.The attractive colors of fresh plant foods include orange, red, purple, black, and blue.These colors are water-soluble and easy to extract.Natural food colorants have many applications in the food industry.[3][23]
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.The scientists found that the total anthocyanin yield varied from 148 to 2725 g/l.Sugars, acids, and vitamins of the fruit remained intact in the residual juice, indicating that the juice may be used to make other food products.[ 24]
The monks at Buddhist temples used to make paper from the bark of mulberry trees.The paper was used to make books.[26]
The paper is the lightest in the world.It is made in Japan using the leaves of mulberry trees.[28]
The tragic deaths of Pyramus and Thisbe are attributed to the reddish-purple color of the mulberry fruits.Thisbe commits suicide by sword after Pyramus was killed by the lioness because he believed that he was eaten by her.The gods changed the mulberry's colour to honour their forbidden love, after their blood stained the fruit.[28]
The refrain of the nursery rhyme "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush" has a tree in it.
The mulberry tree is featured in some of van Gogh's paintings.He painted it after a stay at an asylum.[29]