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PLANT PROFILE LIST
NAME: White mulberry
LATIN NAME / FAMILY: Morus alba / Moraceae
OTHER COMMON NAME(S):
CONDITIONS:
sun-partial shade
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PARTS: |
EDIBLE |
TASTE |
RAW/COOK |
SEASON |
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All |
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Shoots |
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DRY/STEEP |
Spring |
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Leaves |
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COOK |
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Stalk/Stem |
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Buds |
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Flowers |
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Fruits |
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sweet |
RAW/DRY/COOK |
Jun |
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Pods |
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Seeds |
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Nuts |
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Roots |
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Bark |
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ROAST/GRIND |
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young
PORTION: small-medium
COMMENT: White mulberry is the most common mulberry, from Asia, berries can be white, but most often turn black-purple. Tree is self-fertile, has both male and female parts. // Edible Parts: Fruit; Inner bark; Leaves; Manna. Fruit - raw. A sweet taste, richer flavour develops if the fruit is dried, it can then be used as a raisin substitute. Young leaves and shoots - cooked. Inner bark - roasted and ground into a meal then used as a thickener in soups etc or mixed with cereals when making bread. The tree is said to be a source of an edible manna (resin). Young shoots can be used as a tea substitute.(1) But young leaves are edible cooked, boiled or stir-fried.(2) The easiest way to harvest the berries is lay a tarp or sheet under the tree and then shaking the branches. Ripe fruit will fall onto the tarp where they are easily collected.(4) Related to fig and paper mulberry.
CAUTION: One report suggests that the raw fruit contains hallucinogens. This fruit is frequently eaten in various parts of the world, there are even some named varieties, and no such effects have been mentioned elsewhere, nor observed by the writer when he has eaten the fruit. Possibly the unripe fruit was being referred to in the report, though even this would be surprising.(1)
NUTRITION/MEDICINAL: Fruit high in Vitamin C, Vitamin K, iron, dietary fiber, riboflavin, magnesium and potassium, about 4.5 carbs per 100 grams, 120 calories. Mulberry leaves are consider animal food if not intoxicating to people.( 2) Fruit contains about 1.5% protein, 0.5% fat, 8% carbohydrate, 0.7% malic acid[179]. The leaf makes a good vegetable, it is rich in carotene and calcium. Protein perparations from young mulberry leaves form an excellent supplement to protein-deficient diets. The dry leaves contain 18 - 28.8% protein, 0.2 - 0.7% Magnesium, 0.8 - 13.6% soluble sugars, 0.6 - 1.4% phosphorus, 2 - 3.9% potassium, 1.4 - 2.4% calcium, 0.8 - 1.8% aluminium, 0.05 - 0.26% iron, 1.8 - 2.6% silica, and 0.3 - 0.56% sulphur. The leaf also contains 10% tannin.(1) Analgesic; Anthelmintic; Antiasthmatic; Antibacterial; Antirheumatic; Antitussive; Astringent; Diaphoretic; Diuretic; Emollient; Expectorant; Hypoglycaemic; Hypotensive; Odontalgic; Ophthalmic; Pectoral; Purgative; Sedative; Tonic.(1)
· https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-357/black-mulberry
LOOK-A-LIKES:
POISONOUS LOOK-A-LIKES:
OTHER USES: White mulberry leaves are the preferred feedstock for silkworms and were imported to the Americas during Colonial times to assist the silk trade. (3) Biomass; Dye; Fibre; Shelterbelt; Tannin; Wood. A fibre is obtained from the bark of one-year old stems, it is used in weaving clothes etc. The stem bark is fibrous and is used in China and Europe for paper making. The twigs are used as binding material and for making baskets. A brown dye is obtained from the trunk. This tree can be grown as a part of a shelterbelt. The wood of the mulberry is a potentially excellent source of ethanol, with yields of up to 6% from sawdust treated with acid and then given four days incubation. Wood - due to its elasticity and flexibility when steamed, it is valued for making sports equipment such as tennis rackets and cricket bats, being considered as good as ash, also used for boat building, furniture, agricultural implements etc.(1)
PROPAGATION VIA CUTTINGS: advice below varies
- http://www.twisted-tree.net/propagating-mulberry-tree
- https://www.thesurvivalgardener.com/from-inbox-two-mulberry-questions
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWQGJ7ELA7Y
- https://plantpropagation.org/how-to-propagate-a-mulberry-tree
SOURCE LINKS (may include nutritional and medicinal info, plus other uses):