Morus, a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, comprises 10–16 species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions.
The closely related genus Broussonetia is also commonly known as mulberry, notably the Paper Mulberry, Broussonetia papyrifera. Mulberries are swift-growing when young, but soon become slow-growing and rarely exceed 10–15 m (33–49 ft) tall. The leaves are alternately arranged, simple, often lobed, more often lobed on juvenile shoots than on mature trees, and serrated on the margin.
Depending on the species, they can be monoecious or dioecious.
The mulberry fruit is a multiple fruit, 2–3 cm (0.79–1.2 in) long. Immature fruits are white, green, or pale yellow. In most species, the fruits turn pink then red while ripening, then dark purple or black and have a sweet flavor when fully ripe. The fruits of the white-fruited cultivar are white when ripe; the fruit in this cultivar is also sweet but has a very mild flavor compared with the darker variety.
Morus alba, known as white mulberry, is a short-lived, fast-growing, small to medium sized mulberry tree, which grows to 10–20 m tall. The species is native to northern China, and is widely cultivated and naturalized elsewhere. It is known as शहतूत in Hindi,Tuta in Sanskrit, Tuti in Marathi and Toot in Persian and in Armenian.
The white mulberry is widely cultivated to feed the silkworms employed in the commercial production of silk. It is also notable for the rapid release of its pollen, which is launched at over half the speed of sound.