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Morus alba

(Common Mulberry)

Overview

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Clusters of female flowers develop into the familiar dark purplish to black mulberries that were a fairly dependable source of sustenance for pioneers in western North America.

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Afrikaans:

Gewone Moerbei, Witmoerbei

Common Names in Arabic:

El Ttuut, Tuth

Common Names in Bengali:

Tut

Common Names in Bulgarian:

Chernitsia Biala

Common Names in Burmese:

Posa

Common Names in Chinese:

Bai Sang, Sang, Sang Shu

Common Names in Danish:

Morbær (Fruit), Morbær (Plant)

Common Names in Dutch:

Moerbei (Fruit), Moerbezie (Plant), Witte Moerbeiboom

Common Names in English:

Common Mulberry, Black-Fruited Mulberry, Chinese White Mulberry, Fruitless White Mulberry, Mulberry, Mulberry Bush, Mulberry Tree, Russian Mulberry, Silkworm Mulberry, Silkworm Tree, White Mulberry, White Mulberry Tree, White-Fruited Mulberry

Common Names in French:

Mûre De Murier (Fruit), Mûrier (Plant), Mûrier Blanc, Moral Blanco

Common Names in German:

Maulbeerbaum (Plant), Maulbeere (Fruit), Weiße Maulbeere, Weißer Maulbeerbaum

Common Names in Greek:

Aspri Moria, Aspromuria

Common Names in Gujarati:

Shetun

Common Names in Hindi:

Shahtut, Tut, टूट

Common Names in Italian:

Gelso (Plant), Gelso Bianco, Gelso Comune, Mora Di Gelso (Fruit), Moral Blanco, Morera Blanco, Moro (Fruit), Moro Bianco, Moro Da Carta, Morus

Common Names in Japanese:

Guwa, Kara Guwa, Kara Yama Guwa, Kuwa, Ma Guwa

Common Names in Korean:

Ppong, Ppong Na Mu

Common Names in Malay:

Bebesaran (Indonesia), Bebesaran Lampung (Indonesia, Java), Murbei (Indonesia)

Common Names in Nepalese:

Kimbu

Common Names in Polish:

Morwa Biala

Common Names in Portuguese:

Amora Da Amoreira (Fruit), Amoreira (Plant), Amoreira Branca, Amoreira-Branca

Common Names in Romanian:

Dud Alb

Common Names in Russian:

šelkovica Belaja, Shelkovitsa Belaia, Tut Belyi, шелковица белая

Common Names in Sanskrit:

Tula

Common Names in Spanish:

Mora, Mora (Fruit), Mora Blanca, Mora De árbol, Moral, Moral Blanco, Morera (Plant), Morera Blanca

Common Names in Swahili:

Mforsadi, Mfurusadi

Common Names in Swedish:

Vitt Mullbär

Common Names in Tagalog:

Amingit, Amoras

Common Names in Tamil:

Kambli Chedi, Mussuketi, Musukette

Common Names in Thai:

Mon

Common Names in unspecified:

Mulberry, White Mulberry

Common Names in Vietnamese:

Dâu-Tàm, D[aa]u, D[awf]m Tang, T[awf]m Tang

Description

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Family Moraceae

Trees , shrubs , vines , or rarely herbs, frequently with milky or watery latex, sometimes spiny . Stipules present, frequently caducous . Leaves alternate, rarely opposite; petiole often present and well-defined; leaf blade simple , sometimes with cystoliths , margin entire or palmately lobed , venation pinnate or palmate. Inflorescences axillary , frequently paired , racemose, spicate , capitate, or rarely cymose , sometimes a fig or syconium with flowers completely enclosed within a hollow receptacle. Flowers unisexual (plants monoecious or dioecious), small to very small. Calyx lobes (1 or) 2-4(-8), free or connate , imbricate or valvate . Corolla absent. Male flowers: stamens as many as and opposite to calyx lobes (except in Artocarpus), straight or inflexed in bud; anthers 1- or 2-loculed, crescent-shaped to top-shaped; pistillode (rudimentary sterile pistil) often present. Female flowers: calyx lobes usually 4; ovary superior, semi-inferior, or inferior, 1(or 2) -loculed; ovules 1 per locule, anatropous or campylotropous; style branches 1 or 2; stigmas usually filiform . Fruit usually a drupe, rarely an achene, enveloped by an enlarged calyx and/or immersed in a fleshy receptacle, often joined into a syncarp. Seed solitary; endosperm present or absent.

Between 37 and 43 genera and 1100â1400 species: widespread in tropical and subtropical areas, less common in temperate areas; nine genera and 144 species (26 endemic, five introduced ) in China.

Economically, the most important species are those of Morus and Maclura associated with the production of silk . Some species in Broussonetia, Maclura, and Morus are important for paper making; some species in Artocarpus, Ficus, and Morus have edible fruit; and some species of Artocarpus and Broussonetia are used for furniture or timber.[1]

Genus Morus

Trees or shrubs , deciduous, with latex; monoecious or dioecious. Winter buds with 3-6 bud scales; scales imbricate. Stipules free , sublateral, caducous . Leaves alternate; leaf blade simple to deeply palmately lobed , margin toothed ; primary veins 3-5 from base , secondary veins pinnate. Male inflorescences axillary , spicate , many-flowered, shortly pedunculate . Female inflorescences shortly spicate to capitate. Male flowers: calyx lobes 4, imbricate; stamens inflexed in bud; pistillode top-shaped. Female flowers: sessile; calyx lobes 4, imbricate, fleshy in fruit; ovary 1-loculed; style present or not; stigma 2-branched, abaxially pubescent or papillose . Fruit with enlarged, succulent calyx usually aggregated into juicy syncarp. Syncarp with achenes enclosed by enlarged and succulent calyx; endocarp shell-like; exocarp fleshy. Seed globose ; endosperm fleshy; embryo incurved ; cotyledon elliptic .

About 16 species: widespread in all temperate areas, also in the mountains of tropical Africa, Indonesia, and South America; 11 species (five endemic, one introduced ) in China.

Morus species are cultivated in many temperate and tropical countries. The leaves are used as food for silkworms and the fruit for human consumption . Male material is often very difficult to name .[2]

Physical Description

Species Morus alba

Shrubs or trees , to 15 m. Bark brown tinged with red or yellow, thin, shallowly furrowed , with long, narrow ridges . Branchlets orange-brown or dark green with reddish cast, pubescent or occasionally glabrous ; lenticels reddish brown, elliptic , prominent . Buds ovoid , 4-6 mm, apex acute to rounded ; outer scales yellow-brown with dark margins , glabrous or with a few marginal trichomes ; leaf scars half round , bundle scars numerous , in circle. Leaves: stipules ovate to lanceolate, 5-9 mm, pubescent; petiole 2.5-5 cm, short-pubescent. Leaf blade ovate, often deeply and irregularly lobed , (6-) 8-10 × 3-6 cm, base cuneate, truncate , or cordate, margins coarsely serrate to crenate , apex acute to short-acuminate; surfaces abaxially glabrous or sparingly pubescent along major veins or in tufts in axils of principal lateral veins and midribs , adaxially glabrous to sparsely pubescent. Catkins: peduncle and axis pubescent; staminate catkins 2.5-4 cm; pistillate catkins 5-8 mm. Flowers: staminate and pistillate on same or different plants . Staminate flowers : sepals distinct , green with red tip , ca. 1.5 mm, pubescent; filaments ca. 2.7 mm. Pistillate flowers: ovary green, ovoid, slightly compressed , ca. 2 mm, glabrous; style branches divergent, red-brown, 0.5-1 mm; stigma papillose . Syncarps red when immature , becoming black, purple, or nearly white, cylindric , 1.5-2.5 × 1 cm; achenes light brown, ovoid, 2-3 mm. [source]

Morus alba and M. rubra are both highly variable and are often confused. Both species have deeply lobed to entire leaves and are variable in pubescence . Some individuals are intermediate in leaf pubescence, suggesting the possibility of hybridization. [source]

ID Features: Alternate leaf arrangement. Variable leaf shape with serrate leaf margins. Fleshy drupe fruit. Imbricate buds with fine hairs or scale tips. Terminal bud absent. Rough leaves. Bark sweet when chewed.

Habit: A dense, rounded deciduous, medium to large tree .

Flowers: Fleshy white to red fruit. Drupe. Up to 1" long. Ripens in June to July. Edible. • Bloom Period: February, March, April, May, June, July. • Flower Color: Green • Flower Conspicuous: Tiny cup-shaped flowers in clusters

Seeds: Fruit: Similar in shape and size to a long blackberry. A multiple fruit composed of numerous small, fleshy drupes. Typically a mix of white, pink, red and purple. Edible. Relished by birds. Fruits and bird droppings will stain sidewalks badly.

Foliage: Toothed , deeply lobed , glossy • Foliage Shape: OvateNormal foliage color: Green • Underside foliage: Green • Juvenile foliage: Green • Mature foliage: Green • New foliage: Green • Spring foliage: Green • Summer foliage: Alternate leaf arrangement . Leaves have many shapes , can be lobed or not. Serrate leaf margins. Rounded cordate leaf base. Pubescent leaf give a rough texture . Dark green leaf color. • Fall foliage: Dull yellow fall color. Color develops late. Color quality varies.

Size/Age/Growth

Growth Rate: Fast. • Size: to 30 to 35 ft . tall, 35 to 40 ft. wide.

Landscaping

Landscape Uses: For extreme tolerance. Difficult sites. Raise silkworms. Fruit attracts birds. Fruitless and weeping forms more useful than straight species. • Liabilities: Considered "trash tree ". Suckers . Invasive. Bacterial blight , leaf spot, canker , powdery mildewy, scale, witches'. broom . Tree looks unkept. Fruit can be extremely messy, don't plant near walkways or parking lots . • Care: Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system . Watering can be reduced after establishment. Feed with a general purpose fertilizer before new growth begins in spring .

Habitat

Disturbed areas, woodland margins , fencerows, dry to moist thickets; 0-1500 m [3].

Hardy to zone 5, and warmer parts of zone 4.

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,998 meters (0 to 9,836 feet).[4]

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Perennial

Growth

Culture: Transplants readily. Tolerant of drought , urban and seaside conditions. Full sun . Prune in winter. Prefers moist, well-drained fertile soil. PH adaptable.

Soil: Minimum pH: 6.1 • Maximum pH: 6.5

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full sun

Moisture: Water Requirements: Once established needs only occasional water.

Temperature: Heat Zones: High: 8 (>90 to 120 days) Low:3 (>7 to 14 days) (map) • Cold Hardiness: High:8 (10 to 20 F) Low:4 (-30 to -20 F) (map)

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Morus alba var. tatarica (Linnaeus) Seringe • Morus tatarica L.

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Morus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 43 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

M. alba (Common Mulberry) · M. alba 'Beautiful Day' (White Mulberry Tree) · M. alba 'Bellaire' (White Mulberry Tree) · M. alba 'Chaparral' (Fruitless Weeping Mulberry) · M. alba 'Contorted' (Mulberry) · M. alba 'Nuclear Blast' (White Mulberry Tree) · M. alba 'Oscar's' (Mulberry) · M. alba 'Pakistan' (Mulberry) · M. alba 'Pendula' (Weeping White Mulberry) · M. alba 'Shangri La' (Mulberry) · M. alba 'Sweet Lavender' (Mulberry) · M. alba 'White Shahtoot' (Mulberry) · M. australis (Southern Mulberry Tree) · M. bombycis (Wild Korean Mulberry) · M. cathayana (Mulberry) · M. excelsa (African Teak) · M. latifolia (Large-Leaved Mulberry) · M. macroura (Long-Fruited Mulberry) · M. microphylla (Little-Leaf Mulberry) · M. mongolica (Mongolian Mulberry) · M. multicaulis (Multi-Trunked Mulberry) · M. nigra (Black Mulberry) · M. nigra 'Bachuus Noir' (Mulberry) · M. nigra 'Black Beauty' (Black Mulberry) · M. nigra 'Black Tartarian' (Mulberry) · M. nigra 'Buzza Black' (Mulberry) · M. nigra 'Chelsea' (Black Mulberry) · M. nigra 'Shah' (Mulberry) · M. nigra 'Silk Hope' (Mulberry) · M. nigra 'Superberry' (Mulberry) · M. nigra 'Wellington' (Black Mulberry) · M. rubra (Red Mulberry) · M. rubra var. tomentosa (Red Mulberry) · M. rubra 'Gelato' (Mulberry) · M. serrata (Himalayan Mulberry) · M. tiliaefolia (Wild Korean Mulberry) · M. tinctoria (Indian Mulberry) · M. 'Collier' (Mulberry) · M. 'Geraldi Dwarf' (Dwarf Mulberry) · M. 'Illinois Everbearing' (Mulberry Tree) · M. 'Paradise' (Mulberry) · M. 'Red Shahtoot' (Mulberry) · M. 'Unryu' (Contorted Mulberry Tree)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 16, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Zhengyi Wu, Zhe-Kun Zhou & Michael G. Gilbert "Moraceae". in Flora of China Vol. 5 Page 21. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. Zhengyi Wu, Zhe-Kun Zhou & Michael G. Gilbert "Morus". in Flora of China Vol. 5 Page 22. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  3. "Morus alba". in Flora of North America Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  4. Mean = 324.880 meters (1,065.879 feet), Standard Deviation = 363.760 based on 1,160 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 2012-05-01