Morus (plant)

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Mulberry
Morus nigra
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Moraceae
Tribe: Moreae
Genus: Morus
L.
Species

See text.

Morus, a

temperate world regions.[1][2][3] Generally, the genus has 64 subordinate taxa,[4] 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 and some taxa currently unchecked and awaiting taxonomic scrutiny.[5][4] M. alba is native to South Asia, but is widely distributed across Europe, Southern Africa, South America, and North America.[2] M. alba is also the species most preferred by the silkworm, and is regarded as an invasive species in Brazil and the United States.[2]

The closely related genus Broussonetia is also commonly known as mulberry, notably the paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera).[6]

Despite their similar appearance, mulberries are not closely related to

brambles and belong to the Rosaceae family (also including the apple, peach
, and other fruits).

Description

Mulberries are fast-growing when young, and can grow to 24 metres (79 feet) tall.

The mulberry fruit is a multiple, about 2–3 centimetres (341+14 inches) long.[2][5] Immature fruits are white, green, or pale yellow.[5] The fruit turns from pink to red while ripening, then dark purple or black, and has a sweet flavor when fully ripe.[2][5]

Taxonomy

The taxonomy of Morus is complex and disputed. Fossils of Morus appear in the Pliocene record of the Netherlands.[7] 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.[citation needed]

The following species are accepted:[8]

In southern Brazil, the mulberry is known as amorinha.[9]

Distribution

Mulberry fruit in Libya

Black, red, and white mulberries are widespread in

ringworm. Mulberries are also widespread in Greece, particularly in the Peloponnese, which in the Middle Ages was known as Morea, deriving from the Greek word for the tree (μουριά
, mouria).

Cultivation

A mulberry tree in England

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

monsoon season 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. 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
.

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

OPALS allergy scale rating of just 1 (lowest level of allergy potential), and some consider it "allergy-free".[11]

Mulberry tree

scion wood can easily be grafted 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.[13] However, any new growth from below the graft(s) must be removed, as they would be from the original male mulberry tree.[14]

Toxicity

All parts of the plant besides the ripe fruit contain a toxic milky sap.[15] Eating too many berries may have a laxative effect. Additionally, unripe green fruit may cause nausea, cramps, and a hallucinogenic effect.[16]

Uses

Nutrition

Raw mulberries
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy180 kJ (43 kcal)
9.8
Sugars8.1
Dietary fiber1.7
0.39
1.44
Niacin (B3)
4%
0.62 mg
Vitamin B6
4%
0.05 mg
Folate (B9)
2%
6 μg
Vitamin C
44%
36.4 mg
Vitamin E
6%
0.87 mg
Vitamin K
7%
7.8 μg
MineralsQuantity
%DV
Calcium
4%
39 mg
Iron
14%
1.85 mg
Magnesium
5%
18 mg
Phosphorus
5%
38 mg
Potassium
6%
194 mg
Sodium
1%
10 mg
Zinc
1%
0.12 mg
Other constituentsQuantity
Water87.68 g

Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults.[17]

Raw mulberries are 88% water, 10%

Daily Value (DV) for vitamin C, and 14% of the DV for iron; other micronutrients
are insignificant in quantity.

Culinary

As the fruit matures, mulberries change in texture and color, becoming succulent, plump, and juicy, resembling a blackberry.[5] 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.[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 and a hint of vanilla.[18] 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.[2][19]

Mulberries are used in pies, tarts, wines,

sherbets are often made from the fruit in the Old World
.

The tender twigs are semisweet and can be eaten raw or cooked.[20]

Supplement

The fruit and leaves are sold in various forms as dietary supplements.[citation needed]

Silk industry

A silkworm, Bombyx mori, feeding on a mulberry tree

Mulberry leaves, particularly those of the white mulberry, are ecologically important as the sole food source of the

cocoon of which is used to make silk.[21][22] The wild silk moth also eats mulberry.[23][24] Other Lepidoptera larvae—which include the common emerald, lime hawk-moth, sycamore moth, and fall webworm—also eat the plant.[25]

The Ancient Greeks and Romans cultivated the mulberry for silkworms; at least as early as 220 AD, Emperor Elagabalus wore a silk robe.[26] English clergy wore silk vestments from about 1500 onwards.[26] Mulberry and the silk industry played a role in colonial Virginia.[26]

Pigment

Mulberry fruit color derives from

food colorants.[2] Due to a growing demand for natural food colorants, they have numerous applications in the food industry.[3][27]

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 (above 100).[2] Scientists found that, of 31 Chinese mulberry cultivars tested, the total anthocyanin yield varied from 148 to 2725 mg/L of fruit juice.[28] 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 for other food products.[28][2]

Mulberry germplasm resources may be used for:[3][2][29]

  • 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

Paper

During the Angkorian age of the

kraing.[30]

Tengujo is the thinnest paper in the world. It is produced in Japan and made with kozo (stems of mulberry trees).[31]

Wood

The wood of mulberry trees is used for

barrel aging of Țuică
, a traditional Romanian plum brandy.

Culture

Mulberry Tree by Vincent van Gogh

A

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),[32] 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.[32]

The nursery rhyme "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush" uses the tree in the refrain, as do some contemporary American versions of the nursery rhyme "Pop Goes the Weasel".[citation needed]

Vincent van Gogh featured the mulberry tree in some of his paintings, notably Mulberry Tree (Mûrier, 1889, now in Pasadena's Norton Simon Museum). He painted it after a stay at an asylum, and he considered it a technical success.[33]

References

  1. ^ J.M. Suttie (2002). "Morus alba L." United Nations, Food and Agriculture Organization. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Morus nigra (black mulberry)". CABI. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d James A. Duke (1983). "Morus alba L., Moraceae: White mulberry, Russian mulberry, Silkworm mulberry, Moral blanco". Handbook of Energy Crops. Archived from the original on 2012-10-28. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Morus L." World Flora Online. World Flora Online Consortium. 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Mulberry". California Rare Fruit Growers. 1997. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  6. ^ Wunderlin, Richard P. (1997). "Broussonetia papyrifera". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 3. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  7. .
  8. ^ "Morus L." Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Rubus brasiliensis - Amorinha". FloraSBS (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2018-05-18.
  10. ^ City of El Paso (July 10, 2007). "Agenda item department head's summary form" (PDF). Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  11. ^ .
  12. ^ Wilson, Charles L. "Tree pollen and hay fever". Food and Agriculture Organization. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  13. .
  14. ^ Phipps, Nikki. "Can Grafted Trees Revert to Their Rootstock?". Gardening Know How. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  15. ^ "White mulberry – Morus alba". Ohio Perennial and Biennial Weed Guide. The Ohio State University. Archived from the original on 2012-04-12. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  16. OCLC 277203364.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link
    )
  17. ^ United States Department of Agriculture; Agricultural Research Service (2019). "FoodData Central". Retrieved 2024-03-18.
  18. ^ a b "which mulberry to buy. advise me!". The Cloudforest Gardener. Archived from the original on 2013-06-08.
  19. ^ Boning, Charles R. (2006). Florida's Best Fruiting Plants: Native and Exotic Trees, Shrubs, and Vines. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, Inc. p. 153.
  20. OCLC 799792
    .
  21. ^ Ombrello, T. "The mulberry tree and its silkworm connection". Plant of the Week. Cranford, NJ: Union County College. Archived from the original on 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
  22. ^ "Mulberry silk". Central Silk Board, Ministry of Textiles - Govt of India. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  23. PMID 24258720
    .
  24. .
  25. .
  26. ^ .
  27. ^ .
  28. ^ .
  29. ^ "Morus alba L." US Department of Agriculture, National Plant Germplasm System. 2020. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  30. ^ Chhem KR, Antelme MR (2004). "A Khmer Medical Text The Treatment of the Four Diseases Manuscript". Siksācakr, Journal of Cambodia Research. 6: 33–42.
  31. ^ Whang, Oliver (May 5, 2020). "The Thinnest Paper in the World". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  32. ^ .
  33. ^ Gogh, Vincent van (1889). "Mulberry Tree". van Gogh Collection. Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California. Retrieved 20 October 2012.

External links