Morus
(the old Latin name for the Mulberry). Mulberry. ORD. Urticaceae. Some ten or twelve species have been referred, by various authors, to this genus; these may probably be reduced to about five. They are milky-juiced, mostly hardy deciduous trees or shrubs, extending over the temperate regions of the Northern hemisphere, and also found on tropical mountains. Flowers greenish-white, inconspicuous, unisexual, borne in separate, axillary, catkin-like spikes. Fruit oblong, juicy, composed of numerous egg-shaped, compressed achenes covered by the enlarged succulent calyces. Leaves alternate, toothed, entire or three-lobed, three-nerved at base; stipules lateral, small, caducous. M. alba and M. rubra grow well in almost any rather dry soil, the latter being the hardier of the two. Propagated freely by cuttings, which may be inserted in a shady border in spring or autumn. The species here given are those best known to cultivation, and are all hardy. For cultivation of M. nigra, see Mulberry.
M. alba (white). White Mulberry. fl. greenish-white. May. fr. white or pale red; ripe in September; inferior to the Black in flavour, being less brisk and sharp. l. with a deep scallop at the base, and either cordate or ovate, undivided or lobed, serrated with unequal teeth, glossy; basal sinus equal. h. 20ft. to 30ft. Asia, 1596 (naturalised in many countries). There are a great many varieties of this species, those grown in Lombardy and other parts of Italy being the most esteemed. In Europe, the White Mulberry is most generally cultivated for its leaves, which are used for feeding silkworms. M. nigra (black). Common Black Mulberry. fl. greenish-white. June. fr. oblong, red or black; ripe in August. l. cordate. bluntish, or slightly lobed with about five lobes, unequally toothed, rough. h. 20ft. to 30ft. Orient, 1548. This species is cultivated on account of its very wholesome and refreshing fruit; and also for the leaves, which are used for rearing silkworms. (B. M. Pl. 229; W. D. B. ii. 159.) See also Mulberry.
M. rubra (red). fl. greenish-yellow. July. fr. red, long, pleasant to the taste; ripe in September. l. cordate-ovate, acuminate, three-lobed or palmate, serrated with equal teeth, rough, somewhat villous; under surface very tomentose and soft. h. 40ft. to 70ft. Northern United States, 1629.