Morus (plant)

"Mulberry" redirects here. For other plants called mulberry, see List of plants known as mulberry. For other uses, see Mulberry (disambiguation).
For the bird genus, see Gannet.

Mulberry
Morus nigra
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Moraceae
Tribe: Moreae
Genus: Morus
L.
Species

See text.

Morus, a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of 19 species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions.[1][2][3][4] Generally, the genus has 64 subordinate taxa,[5] three of which are well-known and are ostensibly named for the fruit color of the best-known cultivar: white, red, and black mulberry (Morus alba, M. rubra, and M. nigra, respectively), with numerous cultivars and some taxa currently unchecked and awaiting taxonomic scrutiny.[6][5] M. alba is native to South Asia, but is widely distributed across Europe, Southern Africa, South America, and North America.[2] M. alba is also the species most preferred by the silkworm, and is regarded as an invasive species in Brazil and the United States.[2]

The closely related genus Broussonetia is also commonly known as mulberry, notably the paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera).[7]

Despite their similar appearance, mulberries are not closely related to raspberries or blackberries. All three species belong to the Rosales order. But while the mulberry is a tree belonging to the Moraceae family (also including the fig, jackfruit, and other fruits), raspberries and blackberries are brambles and belong to the Rosaceae family.[8]

  1. ^ J.M. Suttie (2002). "Morus alba L." United Nations, Food and Agriculture Organization. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference cabi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference duke was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Chan, Eric Wei Chiang (2024). "An overview on clinical studies of Morus species with bioactivities of compounds providing supporting evidence". Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science. doi:10.7324/JAPS.2024.184245. ISSN 2231-3354.
  5. ^ a b "Morus L." World Flora Online. World Flora Online Consortium. 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference crfg was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Wunderlin, Richard P. (1997). "Broussonetia papyrifera". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 3. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  8. ^ "Rubus L." Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2021. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2024.