Editing Morus (plant) (section)

== Uses ==
===Agricultural===
The leaves are harvested three or four times a year by a leaf-picking method under rain-fed or semi-arid conditions, depending on the monsoon. The leaves are useful as animal fodder. The tree branches pruned in the fall (autumn; after the leaves have fallen) are cut and used to make durable baskets supporting agriculture and [[animal husbandry]].{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

=== Culinary ===
As the fruit matures, mulberries change in texture and color, becoming succulent, plump, and juicy, resembling a [[blackberry]].{{r|crfg}} The color of the fruit does not distinguish the mulberry species, as mulberries may be white, lavender or black in color. The fruit of the black mulberry (native to southwest Asia) and the red mulberry (native to eastern North America) have distinct flavors.{{r|Cloudforest}} White mulberry fruits are typically sweet, but not tart, while red mulberries are usually deep red, sweet, and juicy. Black mulberries are large and juicy, with balanced sweetness and tartness.{{r|crfg}} The fruit of the East Asian white mulberry – a species extensively naturalized in urban regions of eastern North America – has a different flavor, sometimes characterized as refreshing and a little tart, with a bit of gumminess to it and a hint of [[vanilla]].<ref name="Cloudforest">{{Cite web |title=Which mulberry to buy. Advise me! |url=http://www.cloudforest.com/cafe/forum/36705.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130608054433/http://www.cloudforest.com/cafe/forum/36705.html |archive-date=2013-06-08 |website=The Cloudforest Gardener}}{{user-generated inline|date=March 2025}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=March 2025}}

Mulberries are used in pies, tarts, wines, [[cordial (drink)|cordial]]s, and [[herbal tea]]s.{{r|cabi|crfg}} [[Jam]]s and [[Sharbat (beverage)|sherbet]]s are often made from the fruit in the [[Old World]]. In spring, new tender twigs are semisweet and can be eaten raw or cooked.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Angier |first=Bradford |author-link=Bradford Angier |url=https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetoedib00angi/page/148/mode/2up |title=Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants |publisher=Stackpole Books |year=1974 |isbn=0-8117-0616-8 |location=Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, US |page=148 |oclc=799792}}</ref>

=== Supplement ===
The fruit and leaves are sold in various forms as [[dietary supplement]]s.{{r|ncpc|supp}}

=== Silk industry ===
[[File:Silkworm mulberry tree zetarra marugatze arbolean3.JPG|thumb|left|A silkworm, ''[[Bombyx mori]]'', feeding on a mulberry tree]]

Mulberry leaves, particularly those of the white mulberry, are ecologically important as the sole food source of the [[silkworm]] (''Bombyx mori'', named after the mulberry genus ''Morus''), the [[cocoon (silk)|cocoon]] of which is used to make [[silk]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ombrello |first=T. |title=The mulberry tree and its silkworm connection |url=http://faculty.ucc.edu/biology-ombrello/POW/Plant-List.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019191608/http://faculty.ucc.edu/biology-ombrello/POW/Plant-List.htm |archive-date=2012-10-19 |access-date=2012-10-20 |website=Plant of the Week |publisher=Union County College |location=Cranford, NJ}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mulberry silk |url=http://www.csb.gov.in/silk-sericulture/silk/mulberry-silk/ |access-date=20 October 2012 |publisher=Central Silk Board, Ministry of Textiles - Govt of India}}</ref> The [[Bombyx mandarina|wild silk moth]] also eats mulberry.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bisch-Knaden |first1=Sonja |last2=Daimon |first2=Takaaki |last3=Shimada |first3=Toru |last4=Hansson |first4=Bill S. |last5=Sachse |first5=Silke |date=January 2014 |title=Anatomical and functional analysis of domestication effects on the olfactory system of the silkmoth ''Bombyx mori'' |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences |language=en |volume=281 |issue=1774 |pages=20132582 |doi=10.1098/rspb.2013.2582 |issn=0962-8452 |pmc=3843842 |pmid=24258720}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tanaka |first1=Kana |last2=Uda |first2=Yusuke |last3=Ono |first3=Yukiteru |last4=Nakagawa |first4=Tatsuro |last5=Suwa |first5=Makiko |last6=Yamaoka |first6=Ryohei |last7=Touhara |first7=Kazushige |date=9 June 2009 |title=Highly Selective Tuning of a Silkworm Olfactory Receptor to a Key Mulberry Leaf Volatile |journal=Current Biology |language=en |volume=19 |issue=11 |pages=881–890 |bibcode=2009CBio...19..881T |doi=10.1016/j.cub.2009.04.035 |issn=0960-9822 |pmid=19427209 |s2cid=2414559 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Other [[Lepidoptera]] [[larva]]e&mdash;which include the [[common emerald]], [[Mimas tiliae|lime hawk-moth]], [[Sycamore (moth)|sycamore moth]], and [[fall webworm]]&mdash;also eat the plant.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tang |first1=Rui |last2=Zhang |first2=Feng |last3=Zhang |first3=Zhong-Ning |date=June 2016 |title=Electrophysiological Responses and Reproductive Behavior of Fall Webworm Moths (''Hyphantria cunea'' Drury) are Influenced by Volatile Compounds from Its Mulberry Host (''Morus alba'' L.) |journal=Insects |volume=7 |issue=2 |page=19 |doi=10.3390/insects7020019 |issn=2075-4450 |pmc=4931431 |pmid=27153095 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

The Ancient Greeks and Romans cultivated the mulberry for silkworms; at least as early as 220 AD, Emperor [[Elagabalus]] wore a silk robe.{{r|Lyle}} English clergy wore silk vestments from about 1500 onwards.{{r|Lyle}} Mulberry and the silk industry played a role in [[Colony of Virginia|colonial Virginia]].<ref name="Lyle">{{Cite book |last=Lyle |first=Katie Letcher |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/560560606 |title=The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits, and Nuts: How to Find, Identify, and Cook Them |publisher=[[FalconGuides]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-59921-887-8 |edition=2nd |location=Guilford, Connecticut, US |page=103 |oclc=560560606 |orig-year=2004}}</ref>

=== Pigment ===
Mulberry fruit color derives from [[anthocyanin]]s, which have unknown effects in humans.<ref name="efsa2010">{{Cite journal|publisher=European Food Safety Authority |title=Scientific opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to various food(s)/food constituent(s) and protection of cells from premature aging, antioxidant activity, antioxidant content and antioxidant properties, and protection of DNA, proteins and lipids from oxidative damage |id=Pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/20061 |journal=EFSA Journal |author=((EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies)) |volume=8 |issue=2 |page=1489 |doi=10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1752 |doi-access=free}} [https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1752 Direct link]</ref> Anthocyanins are responsible for the attractive colors of fresh plant foods, including orange, red, purple, black, and blue.<ref name=efsa2010/> These colors are water-soluble and easily extractable, yielding natural [[food colorant]]s.{{r|cabi}} Due to a growing demand for natural food colorants, they have numerous applications in the food industry.{{r|duke|efsa2010}}

A cheap and industrially feasible method has been developed to extract anthocyanins from mulberry fruit that could be used as a fabric dye or food colorant of high [[color value]].<ref name=cabi/> Scientists found that, of 31 Chinese mulberry cultivars tested, the total anthocyanin yield varied from 148 to 2725&nbsp;mg/L of fruit juice.<ref name="liu">{{Cite journal |vauthors=Liu X, Xiao G, Chen W, Xu Y, Wu J |year=2004 |title=Quantification and purification of mulberry anthocyanins with macroporous resins |journal=Journal of Biomedicine & Biotechnology |volume=2004 |issue=5 |pages=326–331 |doi=10.1155/S1110724304403052 |pmc=1082888 |pmid=15577197 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Sugars, acids, and vitamins of the fruit remained intact in the residual juice after removal of the anthocyanins, indicating that the juice may be used for other food products.<ref name=liu/><ref name="cabi">{{Cite web |date=20 November 2019 |title=''Morus nigra'' (black mulberry) |url=https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/34830 |access-date=8 March 2020 |publisher=CABI}}</ref>

Mulberry [[germplasm]] resources may be used for:{{r|duke|cabi}}<ref name="usda">{{Cite web |date=2020 |title=''Morus alba'' L. |url=https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxonomydetail.aspx?id=24607 |access-date=8 March 2020 |publisher=US Department of Agriculture, National Plant Germplasm System}}</ref>
* exploration and collection of fruit yielding mulberry species
* their characterization, cataloging, and evaluation for anthocyanin content by using traditional, as well as modern, means and [[biotechnology]] tools
* developing an information system about these cultivars and varieties
* training and global coordination of genetic stocks
* evolving suitable breeding strategies to improve the anthocyanin content in potential breeds by collaboration with various research stations in the field of sericulture, plant genetics, and breeding, biotechnology and [[pharmacology]]

=== Paper ===
During the Angkorian age of the [[Khmer Empire]] of [[Southeast Asia]], monks at Buddhist temples made paper from the bark of mulberry trees. The paper was used to make books, known as ''[[kraing]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Chhem KR, Antelme MR |year=2004 |title=A Khmer Medical Text ''The Treatment of the Four Diseases'' Manuscript |url=https://www.academia.edu/12005253 |journal=Siksācakr, Journal of Cambodia Research |volume=6 |pages=33–42}}</ref>

[[Tengujo]] is the thinnest paper in the world. It is produced in Japan and made with kozo (stems of mulberry trees).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Whang |first=Oliver |date=May 5, 2020 |title=The Thinnest Paper in the World |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/05/science/the-thinnest-paper-in-the-world.html |access-date=9 May 2020 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> Traditional Japanese [[Washi|washi paper]] is often created from parts of the mulberry tree.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What Is Washi? |url=https://www.washiarts.com/what-is-washi |access-date=May 22, 2024 |website=Washi Arts}}</ref>

=== Wood ===
The wood of mulberry trees is used for [[barrel aging]] of [[Țuică]], a traditional Romanian plum brandy.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Richard |last=Varr |title=Romanian Moonshine Home-brewed ţuica is the country's national drink |url=https://romaniatourism.com/press-romanian-moonshine-home-brewed-tuica-country-national-drink.html |access-date=2 March 2025 |magazine=Home and Away Magazine |via=Romania Tourism |date=March–April 2017}}</ref>