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Morus nigra
Moraceae FAMILY

Morus nigra

Morus nigra

Edibility
5/5
Medicinal
3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree
GrowthSlow

A plant of the warm temperate zone and the subtropics, black mulberry only succeeds at higher elevations in tropical areas, generally above 1,000 metres[1]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 15 - 25°c, but can tolerate 10 - 38°c[1]. When dormant, the plant can survive temperatures down to about -5°c, but young growth can be severely damaged at -1°c[1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 700 - 1,500mm, but tolerates 300 - 4,000mm[1]. Prefers a warm moist but well-drained loamy soil in a sheltered sunny position[2, 3]. Prefers a light soil[4]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 7, tolerating 4.3 - 8.3[1]. Plants are very tolerant of atmospheric pollution[5]. A slow growing[6] but very ornamental tree[2], the mulberry is sometimes cultivated in gardens for its delicious edible fruit[7]. The tree is not usually grown on a commercial scale because the fruit is too soft and easily damaged to allow it to be transported to market, and is therefore best eaten straight from the tree. There are some named varieties[7]. The mulberry takes many years to settle down and produce good crops of fruit, about 15 years being the norm[5]. Plants are late coming into leaf in the spring and also lose their leaves at the first autumn frosts though the tree when in leaf casts quite a dense shade[6]. Mulberries have brittle roots and so need to be handled with care when planting them out[8]. Any pruning should only be carried out when the plant is fully dormant because mulberries bleed badly when cut[8]. Ideally prune only badly placed branches and dead wood[8]. Once considered to be a very long-lived tree, doubts are now being cast on this assumption, it is probably fairly short-lived[3]. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[6]. The mulberry is originally a subtropical fruit tree that originated in Iran or China and Japan and is only suited to the higher elevations above 1,000 metres in the tropics. In temperate regions it can be grown down to sea level. It is highly favoured in areas with long hot summers or extended droughts. A rugged species, it is fairly resistant to cold but grows best at lower altitudes when sheltered from wind and in coastal areas[1].

Propagation

The seed germinates best if given 2 - 3 months cold stratification[9, 10]. Sow the seed as soon as it is ripe if possible, otherwise in late winter in a cold frame. The seed usually germinates in the first spring, though it sometimes takes another 12 months. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the cold frame for their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 7 - 10cm with a heel, mid summer in a frame. Plant out in spring. A good percentage take, though they sometimes fail to thrive[11, 12]. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, 25 - 30cm with a heel of 2 year old wood, autumn or early spring in a cold frame or a shady bed outside[11]. Bury the cuttings to threequarters of their depth. It is said that cuttings of older wood up to 2.5 metres long can be readily made to strike[5]. The cuttings are taken in late winter and planted 30cm deep in a shady sheltered position outdoors. The stem is wrapped in moss to prevent water loss by transpiration, with only the top few buds not being covered[5]. Layering in autumn[6]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Morus+nigra>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  2. [2]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  3. [3]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  4. [4]The Gardener's Assistant. — Thompson. B. · Blackie and Son. · 1878 · ISBN - ↩︎Excellent general but extensive guide to gardening practices in the 19th century. A very good section on fruits and vegetables with many little known species.
  5. [5]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
  6. [6]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  7. [7]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  8. [8]Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. — Bown. D. · Dorling Kindersley, London. · 1995 · ISBN 0-7513-020-31 ↩︎A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
  9. [9]Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. — McMillan-Browse. P. · Grower Books · 1985 · ISBN 0-901361-21-6 ↩︎Does not deal with many species but it is very comprehensive on those that it does cover. Not for casual reading.
  10. [10]Seed Manual for Ornamental Trees and Shrubs. — Gordon. A. G. and Rowe. D. C. F. · HMSO; London · 1982 · ISBN 0-11-710152-4 ↩︎Very comprehensive guide to growing trees and shrubs from seed. Not for the casual reader.
  11. [11]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  12. [12]The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. — Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. · Athens Ga. Varsity Press · 1987 · ISBN 0942375009 ↩︎A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.
  13. [13]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  14. [14]Growing Unusual Fruit. — Simmons. A. E. · David & Charles; Newton Abbot. · 1972 · ISBN 0-7153-5531-7 ↩︎A very readable book with information on about 100 species that can be grown in Britain (some in greenhouses) and details on how to grow and use them.
  15. [15]Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. — Chiej. R. · MacDonald · 1984 · ISBN 0-356-10541-5 ↩︎Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.
  16. [16]Edible and Medicinal Plants. — Launert. E. · Hamlyn · 1981 · ISBN 0-600-37216-2 ↩︎Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.
  17. [17]Trees of North Texas — Vines. R.A. · University of Texas Press. · 1982 · ISBN 0292780206 ↩︎A readable guide to the area, it contains descriptions of the plants and their habitats with quite a bit of information on plant uses.
  18. [18]Medicinal Plants of China — Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. · Reference Publications, Inc. · 1985 · ISBN 0-917256-20-4 ↩︎Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.
  19. [19]Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. — Yeung. Him-Che. · Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles · 1985 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent Chinese herbal giving information on over 500 species. Rather technical and probably best suited to the more accomplished user of herbs.
  20. [20]Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). — Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. · Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. · 1986 · ISBN - ↩︎Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.
  21. [21]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  22. [22]Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. — Grae. I. · MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. · 1974 · ISBN 0-02-544950-8 ↩︎A very good and readable book on dyeing.
  23. [23]CosIng — http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/ ↩︎CosIng is the European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients.
  24. [24]Flowers of Europe - A Field Guide. — Polunin. O. · Oxford University Press · 1969 · ISBN 0192176218 ↩︎An excellent and well illustrated pocket guide for those with very large pockets. Also gives some details on plant uses.
  25. [25]Ethnobotanical Studies of Useful Trees of District Kotli, Azad Jammu and Kashmir — Muhammad Ajaib & Zaheer-Ud-Din Khan · 2014 · ISBN 2313-206X ↩︎
  26. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎