The Moraceae — often called the mulberry family or fig family — are a family of flowering plants comprising about 38 genera and over 1100 species. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however, their distribution is cosmopolitan overall. The only synapomorphy within the Moraceae is presence of laticifers and milky sap in all parenchymatous tissues, but generally useful field characters include two carpels sometimes with one reduced, compound inconspicuous flowers, and compound fruits. The family includes well-known plants such as the fig, banyan, breadfruit, mulberry, and Osage orange. The 'flowers' of Moraceae are often pseudanthia.
Morus, a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, consists of diverse species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions. Generally, the plant has three main species ostensibly named for the fruit color of the best-known cultivar: white, red, and black mulberry, with numerous cultivars, but more than 200 species are identified in taxonomy. The name “white mulberry” came about because the first specimens named by European taxonomists were a cultivated mutation prized for their white fruit, but wild trees bear black fruit like other mulberries. White mulberry is native to South Asia, but is widely distributed across Europe, Southern Africa, South America, and North America. It is regarded as an invasive species in Brazil and the United States.
Morus alba, known as white mulberry, common mulberry and silkworm mulberry, is a fast-growing, small to medium-sized mulberry tree which grows to 10–20 m (33–66 ft) tall. It is generally a short-lived tree with a lifespan comparable to that of humans, although there are some specimens known to be more than 250 years old. The species is native to central China and is widely cultivated and naturalized elsewhere.
Maclura tricuspidata is a tree native to East Asia, occasionally grown for its fruit, somewhat similar to that of the related mulberry. It is also known by common names including cudrang, kujibbong, mandarin melon berry, silkworm thorn, zhe or che, and Chinese mulberry. It grows up to 6 m high.
Chinese mulberry is a common name for several trees and may refer to:
The paper mulberry is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae. It is native to Asia, where its range includes Taiwan, China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, Burma, and India. It is widely cultivated elsewhere and it grows as an introduced species in parts of Europe, the United States, and Africa. Other common names include tapa cloth tree.
Morus rubra, commonly known as the red mulberry, is a species of mulberry native to eastern and central North America. It is found from Ontario, Minnesota, and Vermont south to southern Florida, and west as far as southeastern South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and central Texas. There have been reports of isolated populations in New Mexico, Idaho, and British Columbia.
Banksia serrata, commonly known as the saw banksia, the old man banksia, the saw-tooth banksia or the red honeysuckle and as wiriyagan by the Cadigal people, is a species of woody shrub or tree of the genus Banksia, in the family Proteaceae. Native to the east coast of Australia, it is found from Queensland to Victoria with outlying populations on Tasmania and Flinders Island. Commonly growing as a gnarled tree up to 16 m (50 ft) in height, it can be much smaller in more exposed areas. This Banksia species has wrinkled grey bark, shiny dark green serrated leaves and large yellow or greyish-yellow flower spikes appearing over summer. The flower spikes, or inflorescences, turn grey as they age and pollinated flowers develop into large, grey, woody seed pods called follicles.
Morus nigra, called black mulberry or blackberry, is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae that is native to southwestern Asia and the Iberian Peninsula, where it has been cultivated for so long that its precise natural range is unknown. The black mulberry is known for its large number of chromosomes, 308.
Campylospermum serratum is a plant in the family Ochnaceae. The specific epithet serratum is from the Latin meaning "with teeth", referring to the leaf margin. It is found in Tropical Asia, from Sulawesi, Indonesia to Hainan, Zhōngguó/China and over to southwester India. Gomphia serrata was a previous common name for the species. The plant is used for it wood and its sap is used in folk medicine and in the past for teeth-blackening.
Morus mesozygia, known as black mulberry or African mulberry, is a small to medium sized forest tree of Tropical Africa. Its leaves and fruit provide food for the mantled guereza, a colobus monkey native to much of Tropical Africa, and for the common chimpanzee of West and Central Africa. It is also a commercial hardwood.
Aecidium mori is a species of fungus in the order Pucciniales. It can only be found on flowering plants of the species Morus, the mulberries. It is found in Asia.
Morus australis, also called Korean mulberry and Chinese mulberry, is a flowering plant species in the genus Morus found in East and South-East Asia.
Morus celtidifolia, the Texas mulberry, is a plant species native to South America, Central America, Mexico, and the southwestern United States, ranging from Argentina north as far as Arizona and Oklahoma. In the USA, it grows in canyons and on slopes, usually near streams, from 200–2,200 m (660–7,220 ft) elevation. It is very often referred to as "Morus microphylla," including in Flora of North America, but recent studies suggest that these names are synonymous with M. celtidifolia holding priority.
Zelkova serrata is a species of the genus Zelkova native to Japan, Korea, eastern China and Taiwan. It is often grown as an ornamental tree, and used in bonsai. There are two varieties, Zelkova serrata var. serrata in Japan and mainland eastern Asia, and Zelkova serrata var. tarokoensis (Hayata) Li on Taiwan which differs from the type in its smaller leaves with less deeply cut serration on the margins.
Morus indica is a member of the genus Morus, of the family of flowering plants Moraceae, commonly known as the mulberry family. As with other mulberries, Morus indica is a deciduous tree. Morus indica is native to the temperate and sub-tropical Himalayan region. It is currently cultivated in India, China, Japan, and East Africa.
Morus mongolica, also described as Morus alba var. mongolica, is a woody plant native to mountain forests in Mongolia, China, Korea, and Japan. Common names for Morus mongolica include Mongolian mulberry, meng sang (China), and ilama by native people in the namesake region of Mongolia. Similar to Morus notabilis, Morus mongolica is an uncultivated mulberry.
Morus notabilis is a species of mulberry found in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of China, at around 1,300 to 2,800 m elevation. Morus notabilis was first formally named by Camillo Karl Schneider in 1916.
