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14.04.07
Mulberry – beautiful tree with tasty fruits
Black mulberry (Morus nigra) is tall and long living tree that grows in all parts of Croatia. In Eastern Europe it is known from ancient times. It is believed that it originates from Persia. Opposed to black mulberry is white mulberry (Morus alba) that comes from China. Its name comes from Latin word 'mora' what means delay, probably because of very slow development of buds.
Mulberry is mentioned in many works from ancient Greece and Roma (Horatie, Ovid). Virgil wrote that mulberry is the cleverest plant because it buds at the latest, waiting for warm weather, and when it starts to bud, it buds in one night. As such plant it was dedicated to goddess Minerva.
It seems that mulberry was more popular and regarded in old times than today. Maybe because it leaves red marks on the streets and on the cars after it falls from the branches. Mulberry fruit is berry like, harvested from June to August. It can be white or black, where the tree name comes from. Less known is red mulberry from USA and French mulberry.
White mulberry differs from the black in fruit color, smooth leaves, in composition, and the tree is taller. It contains free organic acids, vitamin C, carotene, pectin, invert sugar, mucilage and resin.
Black mulberry has 9% of invert sugar, apple and citric acid, bitter substances, resin, rubber, carotene, vitamin C and manganese. According to its sugar content, it is at the top among all fruits. Only cherries and grapes have more sugar.
Mulberry fruit is oval, 1 to 4 cm long, hot red color before it ripens, but when it is fully ripen it has purple or black color.
Fruit is used in human nutrition as tasty fruit, fresh or processed in jam, syrup, or mulberry brandy. Tea is made from leaves and tree bark, to heal painful throat or diabetes. Some people treat high temperature or bad digestion with mulberry.
White mulberry fruit, in combination with cherry syrup, heals tonsil inflammation, stomachache, fever and diarrhea. White mulberry leaves are mostly used in sericulture, in production of silk, as feed for the silkworm.
In ancient times mulberry grew around many houses in Croatia and its fruit was delicious dessert for kids and adults in days of poor nutrition. When a couple was married, or when a baby was born, one mulberry was planted along the road in those old days. It was done for travelers, so that they can rest in mulberry shadow, and to refresh themselves with mulberry fruits.
Maybe you didn't know that mulberry is one of the trademarks of Croatian cost town Makarska, although it impossible not to notice the strange trees with cranky branches – mulberry. Those trees are planted there a long time ago. During summer time they made natural green shed. »It is great to see palm trees, but mulberry is something special«, said people from Makarska. Mulberry fruits were sold on the open markets, but today it is very rare custom.
In the area around river Neretva, mulberry tree was used to make spare parts for special Neretva boat. When mulberry tree is cut in two, it is easy to see two layers: inner red and outer white. Red layer is more durable, and so better for the boat manufacture.
The most famous mulberry tree in Croatia is definitely the legendary mulberry tree by the old football stadium of club Hajduk in Split. It is Morus alba type, i.e. white mulberry. Public agency for management of protected nature of Splitsko-dalmatinska County started an initiative to proclaim this tree as botanical natural monument. We don't know did it really happen. But we know that town Split was full of mulberry before they were replaced with palm trees. Unfortunately, mulberry fruit rottens very fast after harvest, therefore it is almost impossible to commercialize this plant as fresh fruit. In spite of that, it’s nutritive and therapeutically values, so as attractive taste, leave us in believe that mulberry will be more popular among generations that are coming.
Diana Herold This article was published in Croatian daily newspaper ‘Večernji list’
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