Benefits of mulberry (Morus) include personal health, wood, silk, color for yarn and food. Romantic myth surrounds fruitful mulberry trees. Most popular species are those named for red, white or black mulberries they bear, Morus alba, M. rubra, and M. nigra.
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The Mulberry Tree
White Mulberry, native to South Asia, is a favorite of silkworms though invasive in parts of Europe. Despite similar appearance raspberries and blackberries, mulberry closer genetically to figs and jackfruit. Immature fruits are white, green, or pale yellow.
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The fruit turns from pink to red while ripening, then dark purple or black, and has a sweet flavor when fully ripe. Mulberry grows quickly and can reach a height of 24 m (79 ft). White mulberry is native to Korea, Japan and China.
Originally, black mulberry comes from Iran, Caucasus and Levant. The red mulberry is established in Eastern North America. Morus fossils date back to the Pliocene period, 5.3 million years ago in the Netherlands.
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Black mulberry is brought to Britain in the 17th century in attempts to cultivate silkworms. The plant finds uses in folk medicine, especially in the treatment of ringworm, a fungal infection.
Due to severe allergy effects of humans the mulberry tree is banned in parts of the United States including Kentucky, Illinois and Tennessee. Only the male produces the allergens and the female tree absorbs them.
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In Ontario Canada, red mulberry has been protected from being "killed, harmed, harassed, captured or taken" since 2004. However it's currently not protected from Conservative governments wanting to destroy green spaces for highways.
Mulberry Toxicity
Toxic milky sap in leaves and unripe green fruit of the plant can cause health problems and reactions. Not everyone experiences ill effects. Ripe fruit is free of toxins. Possible symptoms of poisoning include:
diarrhea
nausea
cramps
hallucinations
nervous disorders
Allergies can cause itching, sneezing, watery eyes and inflammation. Severe allergic effects such as trouble breathing and asthma, or extreme intestinal problems, should be immediately treated at a hospital.
Mulberry Uses: Food, Wood, Silk, Color
Food
Ripe berries can range from sweet to tart. They're used in pies, tarts, wine, cordial, and herbal tea and are a good source of Vitamin C and iron, and a source of riboflavin, Vitamin K and Vitamin E. The semi-sweet twigs can be eaten raw or cooked.
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Mulberry Silk Worms (Bombyx mori)
Silk worms love mulberry and it's the only food they eat. Their thread cocoons are used to make silk. Ancient Romans import vast amounts of silk by the 1st century AD, causing market destabilization. In 220 AD the boy Emperor Elagabalus is especially fond of silk.
Wood
Mulberry is a hardwood. The wood is long-lasting and resists rot. In Japan, mulberry wood is used to make furniture and tea ceremony utensils. Elsewhere mulberry is popular for fence posts.
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Mulberry Color
Mulberry fruit color derives from anthocyanins, pigments creating hues of blue, purple, red and black. Water-soluble, the pigments are easy to extract and are widely used in the natural food industry as a colorants, or in manufacturing as fabric dye.
Mulberry Paper
During the Angkorian age of the Khmer Empire of Southeast Asia, in what is now northern Cambodia, monks at Buddhist temples made paper from the bark of mulberry trees. The paper was used to make folding book manuscripts or kraing.
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The thinnest paper in the world, tengujo is produced in Japan from kozo (stems of mulberry trees). The paper is so thin it's almost transparent as glass. Mulberry plant parts may be used in textured handmade paper.
Mulberry Myth: Pyramus and Thisbe
In a tale from Ovid, Pyramus and Thisbe are young lovers who meet beneath a mulberry tree. One day Pyramus sees Thisbe's bloody cloak beneath the tree, and thinks she's been killed by a lion (in fact she's frightened away by a lion with blood on its face).
In grief he kills himself with a knife or sword. Thisbe arrives and finds Pyramus dead, so she too dies in suicide by the blade. The blood splashing up from the deaths of the two lovers stains the mulberry fruit red.
Mulberry Health Benefits
The mulberry tree has a number of folk medicine benefits. Berries, sap, leaves and tea may be used to treat:
dysentery
ringworm & fungal infections
weakness
difficulty urinating
high blood sugar
high cholesterol
inflammation
heart disease
diabetes (due to compounds in the leaves)
Flavonoids in mulberries contain heart and nerve-protective qualities and may have major benefits for long-term brain health, including reduced risk of cognitive decline. The berries help promote healthy hair and skin.
Folk Magic & Spiritual Meaning of Mulberry Tree
Spiritually the mulberry represents faith, hope, nature, beauty, attraction and abundance. Leaves can be worn or carried for strength and courage. Meditate under a mulberry tree to align energy flow.
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In German folklore, the root of the mulberry tree polishes the devil's boot. In Christianity the tree relates to forgiveness. Mulberry is sacred to Roman goddess Athena, goddess of wisdom and warfare. A wand or amulet of mulberry wood can increase one's willpower.
Because the mulberry tree takes ten years to flower and bear fruit, it's also known as a Tree of Patience. Wood and berries from the tree can attract the good things in life.