Black Mulberry (Morus nigra)

Black mulberry is mainly cultivated for its edible fruits that are the best-flavoured of those produced by the Morus species. The purple-black berries are large and juicy, with a good balance of sweetness and tartness. 

The ripe fruit contains about 9% sugar, with malic and citric acid. Berries can be eaten raw or dried, or used in pies, tarts, puddings, conserves, jams, or sweetened and pureed as a sauce; slightly unripe fruit is best for pies and tarts. The fruit is sometimes pounded to a fine powder and mixed with the flour for bread. They can be blended with other fruits like pears and apples . 

Leaves are used as feed for silkworms, but result in coarser silk than those obtained with worms fed white mulberry. Rather, they are used to feed rabbits and cattle and small ruminants are known to browse on black mulberry.

The wood of black mulberry is very hard and good for woodcraft. The bark is used to produce cardboard, paper and rope. Black mulberry is reported to have several medicinal properties.

Plant Care