Morus alba L. 

Scientific Name: Morus alba L. 

Family: Moraceae 

Common Name: White Mulberry

Hindi Name: शहतूत 

Description: Shrubs or trees, 3-10 m tall. Bark Gray, shallowly furrowed. Branches finely hairy. Winter buds reddish brown, ovoid, finely hairy. Stipules lanceolate, 2-3.5 cm, densely covered with short pubescence. Petiole 1.5-5.5 cm, pubescent; leaf blade ovate to broadly ovate, irregularly lobed, 5-30 × 5-12 cm, abaxially sparsely pubescent along midvein or in tufts in axil of midvein and primary lateral veins, adaxially bright green and glabrous, base rounded to ± cordate, margin coarsely serrate to crenate, apex acute, acuminate, or obtuse. Male catkins pendulous, 2-3.5 cm, densely white hairy. Female catkins 1-2 cm, pubescent; peduncle 5-10 mm, pubescent. Male flowers: calyx lobes pale green, broadly elliptic; filaments inflexed in bud; anthers 2-loculed, globose to reniform. Female flowers: sessile; calyx lobes ovoid, ± compressed, with marginal hairs; ovary sessile, ovoid; style absent; stigmas with mastoid like protuberance, branches divergent, papillose. Syncarp red when immature, blackish purple, purple, or greenish white when mature, ovoid, ellipsoid, or cylindric, 1-2.5 cm. Fl. Apr-May, fr. May-Aug. 

Economic Importance:

• The leaf of mulberry is solely used for feeding and rearing of the silkworm, for the production of silk yarn. It is estimated that mulberry silk contributes around 90 % of the total global raw silk production.

• Serve the dual-purpose rendering animal husbandry a profitable business ventures to the small and marginal farmers and in effective management of scarce land resources. 

Medicinal Importance:

• Mulberry plant contains, moranoline (DNJ), Moran (glycopeptides), hydrophobic flavonoids (flavones and flavanone) and 2- aryl benzofuran which play important role in hypoglycaemic action.

• The extract prepared from the leaf of rich in Morus alba tannins exhibits significant α- amylase inhibitory activity, thus, useful for treating both the diabetes. 

Cultural Importance:

• In India, utilization of mulberry leaf et al., in making various foodstuffs like tea, pakoda, dhokla and cakes has also been tried and witnessed high rate of acceptability due to high nutritive value and taste.