Parts Most Frequently Used: Leaf, Berry, Bark​

Flavors/Temps: Sang Shen (Berry) – Sweet, Cold. Sang Ye (Leaf) – Sweet, Bitter, Cold. Sang Bai Pi (Bark)– Sweet, Cold.

Caution: Considered safe.

Key Constituents: Protein, Lipids, Anthocyanins, Iron, Fiber, Fatty acids, Peptides, and significant amounts of Vitamin A, B1, B2, and C

History/Folklore:

Chinese White Mulberry (Morus alba) is used in the silk industry as a food source for silkworms and was brought to the U.S. in colonial times to establish a silk industry in the Americas. Both black and white mulberry contain a milky juice that coagulates into a rubbery substance thought to give strength to the filaments spun by the silkworm. It is thought to have been brought to England by the Romans, where it was likely introduced from Persia. Early Greek and Roman writings refer to the plant. The Romans ate mulberries at feasts. The legend of Pyramus and Thisbe tells of their being slayed beneath a Mulberry tree with the fruit changing from white to red as it absorbed their blood.

Mulberry was included among the large list of useful and Medicinal Plants ordered by Charlemagne (812 AD) to be cultivated on the imperial farm. In 1608, King James I issued an edict encouraging the cultivation of Mulberries to promote England’s silk industry. However, the Black Mulberry was planted, not the White whose leaves the silkworms flourish on as a main source of food. Black mulberries produce coarser silk and are not as favored by silkworms. The oldest mulberry tree in England is said to be of Syon House, Brentford. The tree was introduced from Persia in 1548 and is reputed to have been planted by the botanist Turner.

In China, each part of the tree has unique and diverse therapeutic uses. For example, the berries are bottled as a beverage to enhance immunity and promote good health. The bark is honey-fried to enhance its ability to stop coughing and wheezing. Good quality bark is thick, powdery, and white. Among other healing properties, the leaves can also be used as an external wash for eye problems. Good quality leaves are large with thick leaves that are complete, crisp, and yellow-green.

In some Chinese traditions, the World Tree is known as K’ong Sang, the hollow mulberry tree. It is considered a hermaphrodite because the tree dates back before the separation of Yin and Yang (male and female) and represents the Tao or all-encompassing cosmic order. This connection to the Tao and cosmic order set the standard for the sacred mulberry grove, Sang Lin when planted outside the eastern gates of the early royal capitals of China. The mulberry tree is also common in Islamic sanctuaries and on Arab pilgrimage routes. It is a symbol of abundance across many cultures.

Black and white mulberries differ in several ways. Black mulberries are juicier and have a sweet-sour tang. White mulberries are juicy and sweet, but not as sweet and sour flavored as the black variety, which is considered tastier. Black mulberry leaves have a hairy lower surface, while white mulberry leaves have a lustrous upper surface. Only the berries and bark of the black mulberry are used. White mulberry trees are more cold-hardy and more drought-resistant than black mulberry trees. Black mulberry bark is used to treat a runny nose and has laxative properties.

Black mulberry wood is used in woodcraft.

White mulberries are preferred medicinally and are higher in fiber, fatty acids, and nutritional content than black mulberries. White mulberries can also improve hemoglobin A1C levels, an indicator of long-term blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.