WHITE MULBERRY
Native: China and India
Scientific name: Morus Alba
Family: moraceae
Silkworms arrived in Virginia as early as 1613 to encourage silk production in southern New England, South Carolina and Georgia but it wasn’t until the early 1800s when the industry really took off in the U.S. White mulberry trees were promoted as a highly lucrative cash crop not only for farmers but for individuals who could grow trees in their backyards and raise silkworms.
White mulberries, classified as Morus alba, also known as the fig family. This family includes a variety of trees and shrubs known for their alternate leaves and milky sap. White mulberries themselves are not true berries, but rather aggregate fruits composed of multiple small drupes fused together.
DRUPE: fruit with thin skin and a central stone containing the seed, for example, a plum,cherry, or olive.
The white mulberry produces these fleshy fruits that are technically aggregate fruits composed of tiny drupelets. These drupelets, when clustered together, form the characteristic cylindrical or blackberry-like shape of the mulberry fruit.
A mulberry differs from brambled fruit in that it belongs to the genus that includes fig, jackfruit, and fruits that grow on a tree.
White Mulberries
White Mulberry Silk Cacoons
mulberry silk is one of the highest quality silks in the world. Derived from the delicate cocoons of the Bombyx mori moth, which are fed exclusively from the leaves of the mulberry tree.
You can see the individual drupettes in this photo which resembles a blackberry with a seed in each drupe.
Top Three White colored Mulberries
San Martin: San Martin is the first to bear fruit. It has dense foliage and smaller dark green leaves.
Beautiful Day. Sweet, pure-white berries are produced by this semi-dwarf but very productive tree; the fruit has a wonderful fresh taste.
Buluklu: Buluklu is similar to San Martin but fruits somewhat later.
The leaves on one tree vary in shapes depending on their age and position in the sun. Most identifiable are the lobed leaves that will quickly give away it’s mulberry species variety.