Difference between revisions of "White Mulberry"

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{{Taxobox
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{{SPlantbox
| color = lightgreen
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|familia=Moraceae
| name = White Mulberry
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|genus=Morus
| image = Morus-alba.jpg
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|species=alba
| image_width = 240px
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|common_name=White Mulberry, Silkworm Mulberry
| image_caption = White Mulberry leaves and fruit
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|habit=tree
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
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|Max ht box=15
| divisio = [[Magnoliophyta]]
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|Max ht metric=m
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
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|origin=China
| ordo = [[Rosales]]
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|lifespan=perennial
| familia = [[Moraceae]]
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|exposure=sun
| genus = ''[[Mulberry|Morus]]''
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|water=moderate, dry
| species = '''''M. alba'''''
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|features=deciduous, fruit
| binomial = ''Morus alba''
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|Temp Metric=°F
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
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|sunset_zones=2-24, 26-41
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|image=Morus-alba.jpg
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|image_width=240
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|image_caption=White Mulberry leaves and fruit
 
}}
 
}}
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{{edit-desc}}<!--- Type GENERAL genus/plant description below this line, then delete this entire line -->
  
The '''White Mulberry''' (''Morus alba'') is a short-lived, fast-growing, small to medium sized tree to 15-20 m tall, native to eastern [[Asia]].  
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{{Inc|
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Morus multicaulis, Perr. (M. Alba, var. multicaulis, Loud. M. alba var. latifolia, Bureau. M. sinensis, Hort. M. latifolia, Poir., which Bureau refers here, is probably M. Indica, Linn.) A strong-growing small tree or giant shrub, with dull roughish and very large long-pointed lvs., which are seldom or never prominently lobed, and which are often convex above, bearing black sweet fr.: style evident. China, where it is apparently the chief silkworm mulberry.—Once much grown in this country, but not now well known, particularly not in the N.
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}}
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{{Inc|
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Morus alba, Linn. White Mulberry. Lvs. light green, rather small, smooth or very nearly so above and often shining, the veins prominent beneath and whitish, variously lobed or divided, the basal lobes unequal, the teeth large and for the most part rounded or nearly obtuse, the branches gray or grayish yellow: fr. variable, usually narrow, 1-2 in. long white or violet, very sweet. China.— Morus alba has been cult.from the earliest times, chiefly for feeding the silk-worm. It is a frequent tree along roadsides and in the old yards in the eastern states, where the trunk sometimes attains a diam. of 2 ft. This half-wild form usually has rather small rounded shining lvs. with very large rounded teeth, and bears small whitish or violet frs. which are very sweet. Sometimes the frs. are an inch long, but they are oftener only half that length, and one sometimes finds trees on which the frs. are barely ¼ in. long. Now and then a tree bears fr. nearly or quite black. Birds, poultry and hogs are fond of these mulberries. The trees are usually very thick- topped and bushy growers, but sometimes one is seen which, when young, has branches as straight and trim as a Northern Spy apple. These half-wild trees are seedlings, and this accounts for their variability. Var. pendula, Dipp. Branches slender, drooping. Var. pyramidalis, Ser. (var fastigiata, Schelle). Tree of pyramidal form: lvs. acute, usually lobed. Var. laciniata, Beissn. (var. skeletoniana, Schneid.) Skeleton-leaved Mulberry. Lvs. regularly and deeply divided into narrow lobes, the terminal lobe and usually two of the lateral ones with very long points: a distinct and graceful form.
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Var. tatarica, Loudon (M. tatarica, Linn.). Russian Mulberry. A hardy type of M. alba which was intro. into our western states in 1875-77 by the Russian Mennonites. It differs little from the type of M. alba in botanical characters. As commonly seen, it is a low-growing very bushy-topped small tree with small and much-lobed lvs. The fr. Is usually very small and insipid, and varies from creamy white to violet, and almost black.
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Var. venosa, Del. (var. nervosa, Lodd. Var. fibrosa. Ser. M. urticaefolia, Hort.). Lvs. contracted and jagged, and very strongly marked with many white veins. It bears fr. ½ in. long. Among the horticultural curiosities this tree should find a place, although it is not grown by our nurserymen. Its ornamental value is considerable, especially when striking effects are desired. Rare in Amer. The history of this mulberry is obscure. Delile described it in a French report as long ago as 1826; of horticultural origin.
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The variations of this species allow of many Latin names to be applied. The following names, which one may find in horticultural literature, are referable to M. alba: byzantina, cedrona(?), colombassa, constantinopolitana, Fegyvernekiana, globosa, intermedia, italica, laciniata (of some), lucida, membranacea, macrophylla, Morettii, Morettiana, romana, rosea.
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}}
  
[[Image:Morus alba fruits.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Ripening fruit of a wild color-like variety]]
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:''More information about this species can be found on the [[Morus|genus page]].''
On young, vigorous shoots, White Mulberry [[leaf|leaves]] may be up to 20 cm long, and deeply and intricately lobed, with the lobes rounded. On older trees, the leaves are generally 8-15 cm long, entire, cordate at the base and acuminate at the tip, and serrated on the margin. The [[fruit]] is insipid, unlike the much more intense flavour of the [[Red Mulberry]] and [[Black Mulberry]]. The fruit varies from white to pink in colour in many cultivated plants, but the natural fruit colour of the species in the wild is deep purple.
 
  
The White Mulberry is scientifically notable for its [[rapid plant movement]].  The flowers fire pollen into the air by rapidly (25 μs) releasing stored elastic energy in the stamen.  The resulting movement is in excess of half the speed of sound, making it the fastest movement in the plant kingdom.
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==Cultivation==
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{{edit-cult}}<!--- Type cultivation info below this line, then delete this entire line -->
  
===Cultivation and uses===
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===Propagation===
The leaves are the preferred feedstock for [[silkworm]]s, and are also cut for food for livestock ([[cattle]], [[goat]]s, etc.) in areas where dry seasons restrict the availability of ground vegetation.
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{{edit-prop}}<!--- Type propagation info below this line, then delete this entire line -->
  
White Mulberry is extensively planted throughout the warm temperate [[Northern Hemisphere]], and is [[naturalisation (biology)|naturalised]] in urban areas of the [[United States]], where it [[hybrid]]ises to some extent with the U.S. native [[Red Mulberry]] (''Morus rubra''). In fact, some authorities worry about the long-term genetic viability of Red Mulberry because of extensive hybridization in some areas. The white mulberry is widely dispersed by birds, which eat the fruit and excrete the seeds, and is considered an [[invasive plant]] in parts of North America.[http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=MOAL]  The white mulberry is also grown ornamentally in Afghanistan and for its berries, which are often eaten dried.
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===Pests and diseases===
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{{edit-pests}}<!--- Type pest/disease info below this line, then delete this entire line -->
  
A weeping [[cultivar]] of White Mulberry ''Morus alba'' 'Pendula' is a popular [[ornamental plant]]. Weeping plants are propagated by [[grafting]] the weeping cultivar onto a non weeping [[rootstock]].
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==Cultivars==
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*'Pendula' ('Teas' Weeping') - strongly weeping, low growing, produces fruit
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*'Chaparral' - weeping
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*'Fan-San'
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*'Fruitless'
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*'Illinois Everbearing' (a hybrid between White Mulberry and [[Red Mulberry]]) - early summer crop, plus smaller crop in autumn
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*'Kingan'
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*'Stribling' ('Mapleleaf')
  
==Ethnomedical Uses==
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==Gallery==
In [[Traditional Chinese Medicine]], ''Morus Alba'' fruit is used to treat prematurely grey hair, to "tonify" the blood, treat [[constipation]], and [[diabetes]].
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{{photo-sources}}<!-- remove this line if there are already 3 or more photos in the gallery  -->
  
The bark is used to treat cough, wheezing, [[edema]], and to promote [[urination]].  
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<gallery>
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Image:Morus alba fruits.jpg|Ripening fruit of a wild color-like variety
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Image:Upload.png| photo 2
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Image:Upload.png| photo 3
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</gallery>
  
It is also used to treat fever, headache, red dry and sore eyes, as well as cough.
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==References==
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<!--- xxxxx  *Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881925381  -->
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<!--- xxxxx  *American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432  -->
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<!--- xxxxx  *Sunset National Garden Book. Sunset Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0376038608  -->
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
* [http://www.springerlink.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&issn=0934-0882&volume=19&issue=1&spage=19 High-speed pollen release in the white mulberry tree, Morus alba L]
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*{{wplink}}
  
[[Category:Moraceae|Mulberry, White]]
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{{stub}}
[[Category:Flora of Armenia|Mulberry, White]]
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__NOTOC__

Latest revision as of 22:16, 7 January 2010


White Mulberry leaves and fruit


Plant Characteristics
Habit   tree

Height: 15 m"m" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 15.
Lifespan: perennial
Origin: China
Cultivation
Exposure: sun
Water: moderate, dry
Features: deciduous, fruit
Sunset Zones: 2-24, 26-41
Scientific Names

Moraceae >

Morus >

alba >


Do you have a description of this genus or plant? Edit this section!


Read about White Mulberry in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture 

Morus multicaulis, Perr. (M. Alba, var. multicaulis, Loud. M. alba var. latifolia, Bureau. M. sinensis, Hort. M. latifolia, Poir., which Bureau refers here, is probably M. Indica, Linn.) A strong-growing small tree or giant shrub, with dull roughish and very large long-pointed lvs., which are seldom or never prominently lobed, and which are often convex above, bearing black sweet fr.: style evident. China, where it is apparently the chief silkworm mulberry.—Once much grown in this country, but not now well known, particularly not in the N.


The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.



Read about White Mulberry in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture 

Morus alba, Linn. White Mulberry. Lvs. light green, rather small, smooth or very nearly so above and often shining, the veins prominent beneath and whitish, variously lobed or divided, the basal lobes unequal, the teeth large and for the most part rounded or nearly obtuse, the branches gray or grayish yellow: fr. variable, usually narrow, 1-2 in. long white or violet, very sweet. China.— Morus alba has been cult.from the earliest times, chiefly for feeding the silk-worm. It is a frequent tree along roadsides and in the old yards in the eastern states, where the trunk sometimes attains a diam. of 2 ft. This half-wild form usually has rather small rounded shining lvs. with very large rounded teeth, and bears small whitish or violet frs. which are very sweet. Sometimes the frs. are an inch long, but they are oftener only half that length, and one sometimes finds trees on which the frs. are barely ¼ in. long. Now and then a tree bears fr. nearly or quite black. Birds, poultry and hogs are fond of these mulberries. The trees are usually very thick- topped and bushy growers, but sometimes one is seen which, when young, has branches as straight and trim as a Northern Spy apple. These half-wild trees are seedlings, and this accounts for their variability. Var. pendula, Dipp. Branches slender, drooping. Var. pyramidalis, Ser. (var fastigiata, Schelle). Tree of pyramidal form: lvs. acute, usually lobed. Var. laciniata, Beissn. (var. skeletoniana, Schneid.) Skeleton-leaved Mulberry. Lvs. regularly and deeply divided into narrow lobes, the terminal lobe and usually two of the lateral ones with very long points: a distinct and graceful form.

Var. tatarica, Loudon (M. tatarica, Linn.). Russian Mulberry. A hardy type of M. alba which was intro. into our western states in 1875-77 by the Russian Mennonites. It differs little from the type of M. alba in botanical characters. As commonly seen, it is a low-growing very bushy-topped small tree with small and much-lobed lvs. The fr. Is usually very small and insipid, and varies from creamy white to violet, and almost black.

Var. venosa, Del. (var. nervosa, Lodd. Var. fibrosa. Ser. M. urticaefolia, Hort.). Lvs. contracted and jagged, and very strongly marked with many white veins. It bears fr. ½ in. long. Among the horticultural curiosities this tree should find a place, although it is not grown by our nurserymen. Its ornamental value is considerable, especially when striking effects are desired. Rare in Amer. The history of this mulberry is obscure. Delile described it in a French report as long ago as 1826; of horticultural origin.

The variations of this species allow of many Latin names to be applied. The following names, which one may find in horticultural literature, are referable to M. alba: byzantina, cedrona(?), colombassa, constantinopolitana, Fegyvernekiana, globosa, intermedia, italica, laciniata (of some), lucida, membranacea, macrophylla, Morettii, Morettiana, romana, rosea.


The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.


More information about this species can be found on the genus page.

Cultivation

Do you have cultivation info on this plant? Edit this section!

Propagation

Do you have propagation info on this plant? Edit this section!

Pests and diseases

Do you have pest and disease info on this plant? Edit this section!

Cultivars

  • 'Pendula' ('Teas' Weeping') - strongly weeping, low growing, produces fruit
  • 'Chaparral' - weeping
  • 'Fan-San'
  • 'Fruitless'
  • 'Illinois Everbearing' (a hybrid between White Mulberry and Red Mulberry) - early summer crop, plus smaller crop in autumn
  • 'Kingan'
  • 'Stribling' ('Mapleleaf')

Gallery

If you have a photo of this plant, please upload it! Plus, there may be other photos available for you to add.

References

External links