In the wild, the trees grow in ravines, valleys and coastal areas ( Orwa et al., 2009). Morus alba is a very adaptable species that is widely found from the tropics to the temperate regions (even sub-arctic) and from sea level to altitudes as high as 4000 m ( Ercisli et al., 2007). Prior to the invention of synthetic silk, the mulberry was cultivated in Europe and America for this silk production. The main area of cultivation of white mulberry tree are in the Middle East, East Asia and South East Asia. White mulberry has been introduced to Australia where it became naturalized and is now considered a weed in New South Wales and Queensland ( Queensland Government, 2011). It was introduced by the Spaniards in Latin America (Mexico, Peru) shortly after the conquest ( Hanelt et al., 2001). It was introduced to Europe during the 12 th century. White mulberry originated from China where it was already cultivated 4700 years ago. The silkworm faeces and the wastewater from silk processing are used to fertilize fish ponds while pond silt makes a good fertilizer for fodder crops that, in turn, are fed to livestock ( Cook et al., 2005). In China, mulberry trees are part of a millenial circular economy system including the mulberry trees, silk production, fish farming, agriculture and livestock farming: the silkworms feed on the leaves and the silkworm pupae are fed to fish. Many parts of white mulberry are used in ethnomedicine ( Ecocrop, 2019 Orwa et al., 2009 Alonzo, 1999). The white mulberry provides several environmental services (see below) and is used as an ornamental, in gardens and along roadsides and avenues. The bark and wood have been used for centuries for tannery and paper fabrication. In India, the fruits are traditionally used for dyeing wool in red or purple colour.
The fruits can be made into juice and beverages. The fruits are edible and can be eaten raw or dried and used as a raisin substitutes. The leaves and stems can be cooked as a vegetable. Its foliage can be used as a source of fodder for livestock. White mulberry is chiefly used to rear silkworm for silk production. The binomial taxon Morus alba may have been chosen after the light-coloured buds and not after the colour of the fruits ( Orwa et al., 2009). A celtic etymology "mor" has been proposed according to the colour of the fruit in the genus. It is thought that the genus name Morus comes from the latin word "mora" which could have referred to the late expansion of the buds. The seeds are very small and the 1000-seed weight is 2.2-2.3 g ( Ecocrop, 2019 Orwa et al., 2009 Alonzo, 1999). The fruit is a 5 cm long fleshy, juicy, edible but not very tasty berry that consists in a syncarp of achenes enclosed in succulent sepals. The trees are monoecious or dioecious without buttresses ( Orwa et al., 2009). The flowers are unisexual inconspicuous, greenish in colour, looking like catkins (male flowers) or spikes (female flowers). The inflorescence is axillary and pendulous. They can be simple or compound (3-5 lobed) even on the same tree, dentate, palmately veined, coriaceous and caducous. The leaves are light green in colour, alternate, petiolate, cordate at their base and very variable in shape. The bark is vertically fissured, dark greyish-brown in colour, exuding a white or yellowish latex. Its bole is straight, cylindrical without buttresses and up to 1.8 m in girth. White mulberry can have a pyramidal shape or have a drooping habit. It has a dense spreading crown, generally wider than the height of the tree. Morus alba is a fast growing, deciduous, medium-sized tree that grows to a height of 25-35 m. While it is traditionally used as fodder for silkworms, white mulberry provides a highly palatable forage suitable for most farm animals ( Martin et al., 2017). White mulberry ( Morus alba L.) is a high-yielding pantropical and subtropical medium-sized tree.
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