MULBERRY: Food, fodder and medicine

novaris

Morus alba is a common herb in Traditional Chinese Medicine
Sang Ye - white mulberry leaf is used in acute infections and allergies especially involving coughs and painful red eyes.

Sang Shen - white mulberry buds are used to treat hot flushing, thirst, and some diabetic symptoms.

Sang Zhi - white mulberry twigs are used in arthritis and some allergic swelling.

Sang Bai Pi - white mulberry bark is used in cough, wheezing and facial swelling.

All these herbs are useful, not miraculous, sometimes the hype outweighs the truth

Other mulberry's may or may not have similar effects, also watch dosage often modern western formulas use ridiculously low doses but are pricey e.g health food store or chemist.

Cyara

hydrophilia wrote:

I have to second that: I've eaten the green tender shoots/leaves straight off the trees ever since I read about it in "Stalking the Wild Asparagus" 35 years back. Never managed to get them as far as the salad bowl. Taste a lot like parsley.

Supposedly the white mulberries are less staining, but the black (Persian?) and some N American cultivars (like "Illinois") have better flavor. I used to spend hours perched in a random tree, competing with the birds, when I found one with good fruit.

Me too.

Is one of my favourite things about spring. Munching tons of mulberries. So many even enough for the monkeys! :cheers:

We have mostly Nigra (black) and some Alba (white) mulberries. It is the white mulberries that the Chinese use for silk production. I want to locate the white Chinese silkworm because they produce the white silk. I have only ever had zebra silkworms with the bright yellow silk.

Is "Stalking the Wild Asparagus" a book I could track? Sounds interesting.

Cyara

creative1 wrote:

I am glad I have both
the white is the smaller of the 2
The black mullberry produces obscene
amounts of berries.
But I have never considered eating the leaves

Yes C1. I find the same thing... that the black have tons more fruit.

Cyara

TCLynx wrote:

So how bout some info on propagating the trees! Does it root well from cuttings?

There is a mulberry tree growing hear the corner of my currently vacant lot. It is pretty spindly due to lots of competition from other vegetation and I think another tree falling on it some years back. It is of the dark purple berry variety. Anyway, I'd been planning on cultivating it mainly for the berries since I have fond memories of them from childhood. Now I'm thinking I would also like to take some cuttings and grow more since it sounds like it has more uses than just berries.

How fast does it grow?
Would it make a good hedge?
I haven't noticed if it stays evergreen here or if it looses it's leaves during winter.

They are known to be pretty fast growing. They pop up like weeds once you have a couple of trees.... birds. I know you can grow them from cuttings because I was given some once. Seem to grow in pretty much any soil. Even floating in a fish pond. One thing I have noticed is that even though they can grow with getting their feet wet the berries are not as tight and sweet as those with dryer conditions. Makes a good hedge but will probably clip off all the berries... unless only clip after the season maybe.

Another thing is the season seems to vary from tree to tree a little bit - which is great... come into full bearing early, mid and later.

Cyara

hydrophilia wrote:

Typically does not do well from cuttings, but if your tree is really that superior you could try air layering or mound layering: air layering worked for me with an apple tree. Happy to go over tips.....

How did you do that HP? Wrap a bag of soil around a branch or something?

Cyara

hydrophilia wrote:

So, if some root well, would this be a good thing to try rooting in an AP bed before setting out into soil?

Uncle Yarra seems to have good success with cuttings through AP. I think he said he uses vermiculite in a shallower tray alongside.

Cyara

novaris wrote:

Morus alba is a common herb in Traditional Chinese Medicine
Sang Ye - white mulberry leaf is used in acute infections and allergies especially involving coughs and painful red eyes.

Sang Shen - white mulberry buds are used to treat hot flushing, thirst, and some diabetic symptoms.

Sang Zhi - white mulberry twigs are used in arthritis and some allergic swelling.

Sang Bai Pi - white mulberry bark is used in cough, wheezing and facial swelling.

All these herbs are useful, not miraculous, sometimes the hype outweighs the truth

Other mulberry's may or may not have similar effects, also watch dosage often modern western formulas use ridiculously low doses but are pricey e.g health food store or chemist.

So true about doses. I think of it more as by the handful than the tiny capsule to be effective... as Hippocrates said...Let food be thy medicine, thy medicine shall be thy food. I have dried leaves for use in winter when there are none to use. Next spring I will be more careful to collect many more because the nutritional levels are better than in autumn. I just hang them by string until they are dry, strip them off the twigs and stems and store in jars. Doing it with Moringa too now.

Most of the research does seem to be about the M.Alba... but the M. Nigra has many of the same medicinal benefits...

Quote:

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

Anthelmintic; Astringent; Homeopathy; Hypoglycaemic; Laxative; Odontalgic; Purgative.

The mulberry has a long history of medicinal use in Chinese medicine, almost all parts of the plant are used in one way or another[238]. The white mulberry (M. alba) is normally used, but this species (M. nigra) has the same properties[238]. Recent research has shown improvements in elephantiasis when treated with leaf extract injections and in tetanus following oral doses of the sap mixed with sugar[238]. Analgesic, emollient, sedative[7, 176]. The leaves are antibacterial, astringent, diaphoretic, hypoglycaemic, odontalgic and ophthalmic[218, 238]. They are taken internally in the treatment of colds, influenza, eye infections and nosebleeds[238]. The leaves are collected after the first frosts of autumn and can be used fresh but are generally dried[238]. The stems are antirheumatic, diuretic, hypotensive and pectoral[218, 238]. A tincture of the bark is used to relieve toothache[7]. The branches are harvested in late spring or early summer and are dried for later use[238]. The fruit has a tonic effect on kidney energy[218, 238]. It is used in the treatment of urinary incontinence, tinnitus, premature greying of the hair and constipation in the elderly[238]. Its main use in herbal medicine is as a colouring and flavouring in other medicines[4]. The root bark is antitussive, diuretic, expectorant and hypotensive[238]. It is used internally in the treatment of asthma, coughs, bronchitis, oedema, hypertension and diabetes[238]. The roots are harvested in the winter and dried for later use[238]. The bark is anthelmintic and purgative, it is used to expel tape worms[4, 240]. Extracts of the plant have antibacterial and fungicidal activity[218]. A homeopathic remedy is made from the leaves[9]. It is used in the treatment of diabetes[9].

http://pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Morus+nigra

I have noticed no taste difference between the leaves of the 2 trees. I prefer the fruit of the black above the white... more flavourful although the white is far sweeter.

hydrophilia

Cyara wrote:

Is "Stalking the Wild Asparagus" a book I could track? Sounds interesting.

The author loved to travel the United States 40-years ago and forage for interesting wild foods. He also wrote a companion book, "stalking the blue-eyed scallop". The two volumes are still in print and are good reads, but will not apply much to folks overseas.....except for things like mulberry or goose barnacles that are so widespread.

Cyara wrote:

Hydrophilia wrote:

Typically does not do well from cuttings, but if your tree is really that superior you could try air layering or mound layering: air layering worked for me with an apple tree. Happy to go over tips.....

How did you do that HP? Wrap a bag of soil around a branch or something?

Air layering: Pick a branch, cut/scrape off all bark over a few cm of the branch near where you will cut it off eventually, put a bucket (drill a hole) or pot or plastic bag of potting mix around the branch and keep it moist for a growing season, then cut off the branch and see if you have roots. Rooting hormone on the open wound might help.

Mound layering: cut back a tree or bush to the ground and mound up soil. Let the plant send up shoots through it. After one season, cut it off at old ground level if things have rooted.

TCLynx

I had really good success with rooting bamboo cuttings in AP so I'm thinking I'll take a few cuttings from the mulberry tree over on the other property and see if they will root in the AP system as well.

Since it looses it's leaves in winter it will probably not suite as a hedge for my purposes so I'll just see if I can get some more growing around here.

Here in Florida, my mulberry is probably red mulberry as they are native. There are some white mulberries around that were naturalized in the attempt to grow silk worms but red mulberry is more likely here.

An interesting note, the color in the name does not necessarily denote the color of the fruit but the flower color since I have read that white mulberry fruit can be anywhere from white through red, lavender or purple.

Cyara

TCLynx wrote:

An interesting note, the color in the name does not necessarily denote the color of the fruit but the flower color since I have read that white mulberry fruit can be anywhere from white through red, lavender or purple.

Yes. My white has white berries until the very end where they turn a light to mid-purple.

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MULBERRY: Food, fodder and medicine

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