Morus alba is a species of deciduous broadleaf flowering plants (in the Moraceae or Mulberry family), native to central China. It is a small tree or large shrub up to about 15 metres tall.
The leaves of Morus alba are bright green and glossy, smooth on the upper surface, of variable size and irregular shape. On young shoots they may be divided into a small number of large lobes, and roughly serrated (with forward-pointing teeth) but on old shoots and mature trees they tend to be heart-shaped or oval, with a pointed tip, and rounded teeth.
The mulberry fruit is quite large and comprises a tight cluster of small fruits (in botanic terms, like a blackberry). It develops during spring and summer, initially green, then red, finally dark purple or black in the wild, but some cultivated varieties produce pink or white mulberries. They are edible and sweet but not strongly tasting, and are used traditionally for various culinary purposes in Asia.
Morus alba has been cultivated since at least 2700 BC in north-west China, being the tree on which domesticated and wild silkworms feed. Silk manufacture began in the Indian subcontinent not long after. Silkwork eggs were smuggled from Asia in 555 AD to begin silk production in the Eastern Roman Empire, using the leaves of Morus nigra (also present in Whiteknights Park). Morus alba was introduced to Europe in the 15th century, and probably to southern England in the 16th. The bark of the Morus alba is fibrous and can be used to make paper.
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