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A major street in Fort Collins, silkworms in China, a Shakespearean garden in England and boys at play in Afganistan.
What links these unlikely places together? The answer is the mulberry tree. The mulberry genus (Morus) is a widespread group of fruit-bearing deciduous trees found in Asia, Europe, Asia Minor and North America. All produce fruit, which, when mature, resemble small blackberries. Both leaves and berries have colorful histories.
The Asian native white mulberry (M. alba) has been cultivated in China for over two thousand years. The leaves are the food for silkworms, whose cocoon masses eventually become silk. The plant is named after the bud color; white, lavender or black fruit develop from hanging catkins. The fruit is not tasty.
Morus nigra, or the black or Persian mulberry, is found extensively in Asia Minor. The tree produces large, juicy, tasty fruits which are used in wine, jams, cordials and pies. The childhood friends in the book The Kite Runner were most likely throwing black mulberries at each other. In Afghanistan, the berries are dried, ground and added to flour. The Romans exported this variety northward through their colonies. Starting in the 17th century, the black mulberry was extensively grown in England in hopes of establishing a silkworm industry. This attempt failed, but raising mulberries in English gardens became the norm.
Morus rubra, the red or American mulberry, is found from the eastern United States westward to Texas. As one garden dictionary from 1936 explained, the fruit "is eaten by chickens, hogs and children". This species is tolerant of many soil types. The fruit is beloved by birds, but is the bane of home owners, due to staining of sidewalks and patios. Anthocyanins, the natural occurring pigments in berries, which range from red to deep purple, are responsible for this.
Mulberries have been hybridized extensively. The home gardener has ample choices of varieties bred for shape (weeping, bush forms), fruit (sterile, no mess) and hardiness (cold tolerant, windbreak). With these characteristics, there may be place in your garden for this tree.
For information on other deciduous trees for the landscape, visit ext.colostate.edu and search for CSU Fact Sheet #7.418, "Small Deciduous Trees," or #7.419, "Large Deciduous Trees."
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