Mulberry
Ripe mulberry on tree
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Rosales Family: Moraceae Genus: Morus L.
Species
See text. Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group Dicotyledons, or "dicots", is a name for a group of Flowering plants whose Seed typically has two embryonic leaves or Cotyledons There For other meanings see Rosales (disambiguation. Rosales is an order of Flowering plants including nine families Moraceae is a family of Flowering plants commonly known as the mulberry or fig family Carl Linnaeus (Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as, May 23 new style (13 May old style 1707 who laid the foundations for

Morus or Mulberry is a genus of 10–16 species of deciduous trees native to warm, temperate, and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, and the Americas, with the majority of the species native to Asia. A genus (plural genera from Γένος Latin genus "descent family type gender" is a low-level Taxonomic Botany Autumn leaf color. See --> In Botany and Horticulture, deciduous Plants, including A tree is a perennial Woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or The Americas are the lands of the Western hemisphere or New World, consisting of the Continents of North America and South America

The closely related genus Broussonetia is also commonly known as mulberry, notably the Paper Mulberry, Broussonetia papyrifera. Broussonetia is a genus of four species of Trees in the family Moraceae, native to eastern Asia. The Paper Mulberry ( Broussonetia papyrifera, syn Morus papyrifera L

Mulberries are fast-growing when young, but soon become slow-growing and rarely exceed 10-15 m tall. The leaves are alternately arranged, simple, often lobed, more often lobed on juvenile shoots than on mature trees, and serrated on the margin. In Botany, a leaf is an above-ground Plant organ specialized for Photosynthesis. The fruit is a multiple fruit, 2-3 cm long. The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context and the term is not synonymous in Food preparation and Biology. The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context and the term is not synonymous in Food preparation and Biology. Mulberries begin as white or green to pale yellow with pink edges. They are red when ripening. A fully ripened mulberry is dark purple to black, edible, and sweet with a good flavor in several species.

Species

The taxonomy of Morus is complex and disputed. Over 150 species names have been published, but only 10–16 are generally cited as being accepted, though different sources cite different selections of accepted names. The classification is also complicated by widespread hybridisation, with the hybrids being fertile. In Biology, hybrid has two meanings The first meaning is the result of interbreeding between two animals or plants of different taxa.

The following species are generally accepted:

The following, all from eastern and southern Asia, are additionally accepted by one or more taxonomic lists or studies; synonymy as given by other lists or studies is indicated in parentheses:

Uses and cultivation

The ripe fruit is edible and is widely used in pies, tarts, wines and cordials. The fruit of the Black Mulberry, native to southwest Asia, and the Red Mulberry, native to eastern North America, have the strongest flavour. The fruit of the White Mulberry, an east Asian species which is extensively naturalised in urban regions of eastern North America, has a different flavour, sometimes characterised as insipid. The mature fruit contains significant amounts of resveratrol. Resveratrol is a Phytoalexin produced naturally by several Plants when under attack by Pathogens such as Bacteria or Fungi Unripe fruit and green parts of the plant have a white sap that is intoxicating and mildly hallucinogenic. The general group of pharmacological agents commonly known as hallucinogens can be divided into three broad categories Psychedelics, Dissociatives ^[1]

Black, red and white Mulberry are widespread in Northern India, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan, where the tree and the fruit are known by the Persian-derived names Toot (Mulberry) or Shahtoot (King's or "Superior" Mulberry). India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Azerbaijan ( English; Azərbaycan officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azərbaycan Respublikası is the largest and most populous country in the South Armenia (Հայաստան transliterated: Hayastan,) officially the Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն Hayastani Pakistan () officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East and For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Afghanistan /æfˈgænɪstæn/ officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan ( Pashto: د افغانستان اسلامي جمهوریت, Jams and sherbets are often made from the fruit in this region. Şerbet ( Turkish) (Soda powder Etymology Turkish & Persian Turkish şerbet from Persian & Urdu شربت Hindi sharbat from Arabic Black mulberry was imported to Britain in the 17th century in the hope that it would be useful in the cultivation of silkworms. It was much used in folk medicine, especially in the treatment of ringworm. The term traditional medicine ( Indigenous medicine or folk medicine) describes medical knowledge systems which developed over centuries within various societies

Mulberry leaves, particularly those of the White Mulberry, are ecologically important as the sole food source of the silkworm (Bombyx mori, named after the Mulberry genus Morus), the pupa/cocoon of which is used to make silk. Other Lepidoptera larvae also sometimes feed on the plant including Common Emerald, Lime Hawk-moth and The Sycamore. Lepidoptera is an order of Insect that includes Moths and butterflies. A larva ( Latin; plural larvae) is a juvenile form of Animal with indirect development, undergoing Metamorphosis (for example The Common Emerald (Hemithea aestivaria is a Moth of the family Geometridae. The Lime Hawk-moth ( Mimas tiliae) is a Moth of the family Sphingidae. The sycamore ( Acronicta aceris) is a Moth of the family Noctuidae.

Mulberries can be grown from seed, and this is often advised as seedling-grown trees are generally of better shape and health. But they are most often planted from large cuttings, which take root readily.

Anthocyanins from mulberry fruits

Anthocyanins are edible pigments which hold potential use as dietary antioxidants providing potential health benefits against a variety of diseases^[2][3][4] and as natural food colorants. As the safety of synthetic pigments is doubted and in the wake of increasing demand for natural food colorants, their significance in food industry is increasing. Anthocyanins yield attractive colors of fresh plant foods such as orange, red, purple, black and blue. Since they are water-soluble, they are easily extractable and incorporated into aqueous food systems.

A cheap and industrially feasible method to purify anthocyanins from mulberry fruit which could be used as a red food colorant of high color value (of above 100) has been established. Scientists found that out of 31 Chinese mulberry cultivars tested, the total anthocyanin yield varied from 148 mg to 2725 mg per litre of fruit juice. Total sugars, total acids and vitamins remained intact in the residual juice after removal of anthocyanins and that the residual juice could be fermented in order to produce products such as juice, wine and sauce.

Worldwide, mulberry is grown for its fruit. In traditional and folk medicine, the fruit is believed to have medicinal properties and is used for making jam, wine, and other food products. The term traditional medicine ( Indigenous medicine or folk medicine) describes medical knowledge systems which developed over centuries within various societies As the genera Morus has been domesticated over thousands of years and constantly been subjected to heterosis breeding (mainly for improving leaf yield), it is possible to evolve breeds suitable for berry production, thus offering possible industrial use of mulberry as a source of anthocyanins for functional foods or food colorants which could enhance the overall profitability of sericulture. Functional food or medicinal food is any fresh or processed Food claimed to have a health-promoting and/or disease-preventing property beyond the basic Nutritional

Anthocyanin content depends on climate, area of cultivation and is particularly higher in sunny climates. This finding holds promise for tropical sericulture countries to profit from industrial anthocyanin production from mulberry through anthocyanin recovery.

This offers a challenging task to the mulberry germplasm resources for

• exploration and collection of fruit yielding mulberry species
• their characterization, cataloguing and evaluation for anthocyanin content by using traditional as well as modern means and biotechnology tools
• developing an information system about these cultivars or varieties
• training and global coordination of genetic stocks
• evolving suitable breeding strategies to improve the anthocyanin content in potential breeds by collaboration with various research stations in the field of sericulture, plant genetics and breeding, biotechnology and pharmacology. Biotechnology is Technology based on Biology, especially when used in Agriculture, Food science, and Medicine.

References

External links

• Flora of China: Morus
• Flora of North America: Morus
• University of Melbourne: Sorting Morus names
• Museum of Cape Town: Moraceae
• Information on mulberry, silkworms and sericulture
• Zhao W et al. 2005. Phylogeny of the genus Morus. Afr J Biotech 4(6): 563-569