Biology:Morus nigra
| Morus nigra | |
|---|---|
| |
| Plate from book: Flora of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (1885) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Moraceae |
| Genus: | Morus |
| Species: | M. nigra
|
| Binomial name | |
| Morus nigra | |
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
|---|---|
| Energy | 180 kJ (43 kcal) |
9.8 g | |
| Sugars | 8.1 |
| Dietary fiber | 1.7 g |
0.39 g | |
| Saturated | 0.27 g |
| Monounsaturated | 0.041 g |
| Polyunsaturated | 0.207 g |
1.44 g | |
| Vitamins | Quantity %DV† |
| Vitamin A equiv. | 0% 1 μg |
| Vitamin A | 25 IU |
| Thiamine (B1) | 3% 0.029 mg |
| Riboflavin (B2) | 8% 0.101 mg |
| Niacin (B3) | 4% 0.62 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 4% 0.05 mg |
| Folate (B9) | 2% 6 μg |
| Choline | 3% 12.3 mg |
| Vitamin C | 44% 36.4 mg |
| Vitamin E | 6% 0.87 mg |
| Vitamin K | 7% 7.8 μg |
| Minerals | Quantity %DV† |
| Calcium | 4% 39 mg |
| Iron | 14% 1.85 mg |
| Magnesium | 5% 18 mg |
| Phosphorus | 5% 38 mg |
| Potassium | 4% 194 mg |
| Sodium | 1% 10 mg |
| Zinc | 1% 0.12 mg |
| |
| †Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults. Source: USDA Nutrient Database | |
Morus nigra, or the black mulberry,[1] is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae that is native to southwestern Asia, where it has been cultivated for so long that its precise natural range is unknown.[2] The black mulberry is known for its large number of chromosomes.
Description
Morus nigra is a deciduous tree growing to 12 metres (39 feet) tall by 15 m (49 ft) broad. The leaves are 10–20 centimetres (4–8 inches) long by 6–10 cm (2–4 in) broad – up to 23 cm (9 in) long on vigorous shoots, downy on the underside, the upper surface rough with very short, stiff hairs. Each somatic cell has 308 chromosomes in total, and exhibits tetratetracontaploidy (44x), meaning that its genome contains seven chromosomes, and each somatic cell has 44 copies of each.[3] This is reported as ”the highest number of polyploidies among any known spermatophyte species“.[4]
The fruit is a compound cluster of several small drupes that are dark purple, almost black when ripe, and they are 2.5 cm (1 in) in diameter.[5] Black mulberry is richly flavoured, similar to the red mulberry (Morus rubra) rather than the more insipid fruit of the white mulberry[6] (Morus alba). Mulberry fruit color derives from anthocyanins.[7]
Sometimes other mulberry species are confused with black mulberry, particularly black-fruited individuals of the white mulberry. Black mulberry may be distinguished from the other species by the uniformly hairy lower surface of its leaves.[8]
Cultivation and uses
The fruit has been present in the Southern Levant since antiquity. In the Books of Maccabees, it is noted that the Greeks used the fruit to provoke their war elephants in preparation for battle against Jewish rebels during the Maccabean Revolt in the 2nd century BCE. The fruit is also mentioned in the Mishnah and later rabbinic texts. In the 9th century CE, Al-Kindi referenced the fruit as having healing seeds, while Ibn Badis, writing in the 11th century, noted its use in the production of ink.[9]
In Europe, the largest-documented local concentration of black mulberries may be found in the vineyards of Pukanec in Slovakia, which contain 470 black mulberry trees. Approximately 400 additional trees can be found in the surrounding villages.[10]
The black mulberry was imported into Britain in the 17th century in the hope that it would be useful in the cultivation of silkworms (Bombyx mori). It was unsuccessful in that enterprise because silkworms prefer the white mulberry. However, the plantings have left a legacy of large and old trees in many country house gardens. The cultivars, M. nigra 'Chelsea'[11] (Syn. 'King James'), and M. nigra 'Jerusalem'[12] have been awarded the Award of Garden Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society. Both cultivars are female (F) and self-fertile. M. nigra was much used in folk medicine, especially in the treatment of tapeworm.[13]
Research of genetic diversity of over 250 old black mulberry trees in Turkey, Iran and Azerbaijan has found no genetic diversity. This suggests that all existing black mulberry trees in the hypothesized area of origin and also elsewhere in the world are clones. This might be the result of propagation by cuttings and layering complemented by apomictic seed formation.[14]
Gallery
-
Leaf of Morus nigra -
Ripe fruit and foliage of Morus nigra -
A centuries-old tree of Morus nigra -
Female flowers of Morus nigra -
An old black mulberry tree in spring -
Unripe shahtoot (Iran) -
Full-grown shahtoot -
From Algeria Morus nigra
References
- ↑ {{citation | mode = cs1 | title = Morus nigra | work = Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) | url = | publisher = [[Organization:Agricultural Research ServAgricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) | access-date = 21 December 2017 }}
- ↑ RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. pp. 1136. ISBN 978-1-4053-3296-5.
- ↑ Zeng, Q; Chen, H (2015). "Definition of Eight Mulberry Species in the Genus Morus by Internal Transcribed Spacer-Based Phylogeny.". PLOS ONE 10 (8). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0135411. PMID 26266951. Bibcode: 2015PLoSO..1035411Z.
- ↑ Kılınçer, İlyas; Khanyile, Lungelo; Gürcan, Kahraman; Şimşek, Özhan; Uzun, Aydın; Nikbakht‑Dehkordi, Azam (2 November 2023). "Decosaploid sour black mulberry (Morus nigra L.) in Western Asia: features, domestication history, and unique population genetics". Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution (Springer) 71 (2024): 2229-2246. doi:10.1007/s10722-023-01771-w. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-023-01771-w. Retrieved 27 Dec 2025.
- ↑ "Morus nigra Black Mulberry PFAF Plant Database". https://pfaf.org/user/plant.aspx?latinname=Morus+nigra.
- ↑ Duke, James A. (1983). "Morus alba L., Moraceae: White mulberry, Russian mulberry, Silkworm mulberry, Moral blanco". Handbook of Energy Crops. Purdue University. http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/morus_alba.html. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
- ↑ "Quantification and purification of mulberry anthocyanins with macroporous resins". Journal of Biomedicine & Biotechnology 2004 (5): 326–331. 2004. doi:10.1155/S1110724304403052. PMID 15577197.
- ↑ Nelson, G.; Earle, C.J.; Spellenberg, R.; More, D.; Hughes, A.K. (2014). Trees of Eastern North America. Princeton University Press. p. 408. ISBN 978-1-4008-5299-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=9Ai2AwAAQBAJ.
- ↑ Fuks, Daniel; Amichay, Oriya; Weiss, Ehud (2020). "Innovation or preservation? Abbasid aubergines, archaeobotany, and the Islamic Green Revolution" (in en). Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 12 (2): 50. doi:10.1007/s12520-019-00959-5. ISSN 1866-9557. Bibcode: 2020ArAnS..12...50F. http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12520-019-00959-5.
- ↑ Kristbergsson, K.; Ötles, S. (2016). Functional Properties of Traditional Foods. Springer. p. 211. ISBN 978-1-4899-7662-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=H5cFDAAAQBAJ.
- ↑ "Morus nigra 'Chelsea'". London: Royal Horticultural Society. https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/72578/morus-nigra-chelsea-(f)/details.
- ↑ "Morus nigra 'Jerusalem'". London: Royal Horticultural Society. https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/227998/morus-nigra-jerusalem-(f)/details.
- ↑
- Grieve, Margaret (1971). "Mulberry, Common". A Modern Herbal. I (Facsimile ed.). New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-22798-7. https://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/m/mulcom62.html.
- Culpeper, Nicholas (1653). "The Mulberry-Tree". Culpeper's The Complete Herbal (New 1850 ed.). p. 123. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/49513/49513-h/49513-h.htm.
- ↑ Kılınçer, İlyas; Khanyile, Lungelo; Gürcan, Kahraman; Şimşek, Özhan; Uzun, Aydın; Nikbakht‑Dehkordi, Azam (2 November 2023). "Decosaploid sour black mulberry (Morus nigra L.) in Western Asia: features, domestication history, and unique population genetics". Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution (Springer) 71 (2024): 2229-2246. doi:10.1007/s10722-023-01771-w. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-023-01771-w. Retrieved 27 Dec 2025.
External links
 |
Wikispecies has information related to Morus nigra |
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Morus nigra. |
Wikidata ☰ Q161040 entry
 |  |
