Castle Howard Arboretum Trust - Furniture Makers Trees

Botanical name: Morus nigra

Family: Moraceae

Common Name: Black Mulberry

Habitat and Distribution:

Native of W. Asia, though long cultivated in Asia Minor and Europe (the Romans ate the berries at their feasts). It is definitely known to have been cultivated in England since the early 16c but it is considered probable that it was introduced by the Romans for the soldiers use. It is known that in 1608 James I, being anxious to further the silk industry by introducing the culture of the silkworm into Britain, issued an edict encouraging the cultivation of Mulberry trees, but the attempt to rear silkworms in England proved unsuccessful, because the silkworm flourishes on the White Mulberry and not the Black Mulberry.

The tree prefers well-drained soil in full sun with shelter from cold, drying winds.

Description:

Small to medium-sized deciduous tree, slow growing to 10 metres (33 feet).

The light green heart-shaped leaves are 5-12.5 cm (2-5 inches) long, 7.5-15 cm (3-6 inches) wide.

Tiny green male and female flowers are borne on separate catkins (female about 1.2 cm, male about 2.5 cm) in early summer. These are followed by dark purple to black fruits up to 2.5 cm. (1 inch) long. The unripe fruits shouldn't be eaten as, like the mulberry sap, it is slightly toxic. The fruits may be eaten raw or cooked; they are generally much sweeter and tastier than the ones of the more common Morus alba. The fruits can be a nuisance when the tree is placed over concrete surface can be stained by the falling fruits.

The trunk is dark grey.

Location within the arboretum:

The tree is to be found in the eastern part of the old entrance gate area, north east of the grass maze.

Furniture Makers Trees at The Arboretum - Kew at Castle Howard

Timber:

The sapwood is lemon coloured whereas the heartwood is a dark brown.

Uses:

The timber is used mainly for veneers, inlays and marquetry.

In the past mulberry has been widely used in folk medicine, a root bark decoction was a traditional remedy for tapeworms. In the 16th century Black Mulberry bark was used to relieve toothaches, the leaves soothed snakebite, and was an antidote for aconite poisoning, and the berries were used for inflammations and to stop bleeding. Mulberry root bark has diuretic, expectorant, and sedative properties, and the branches are anti-rheumatic and analgesic. Mulberry leaves were used as an antibacterial and expectorant, and the berries are a laxative and a tonic.

The sole use of Mulberries in modern medicine is for the preparation of a syrup, employed to flavour or colour any other medicine