History of mulberry fruit

Mulberry has its origin in different part of the world.  The red mulberry is native of United States, whereas black mulberry is a native to western Asia but long ago found its way to Greece and Rome, and thence to other parts of Europe.

The mulberry as dedicated by the Greeks to Minerva, probably because it was considered the wisest of trees and Jupiter the protector was called Morea.

White mulberry is considered to have originated in China and is grown mainly in tropical countries. It has been grown primarily for its leaves, as silkworm folder and it was for this purpose that the trees were brought to other parts of the world.

The first black mulberry trees of England are said to have been planted at Sion House, the seat of the Duke of Northumberland in 1548. Others say that the first mulberry tree planted in England was in the garden at Lambeth Place, by Cardinal Pole 1555.

In the early 1600s, the English King James I, shipped white mulberry trees and silkworms to the colony of Virginia to start silkworm production, which was unsuccessful. However, enthusiasm for silkworm culture reached a peak in the decade of the 1830s when a new, supposedly superior type of mulberry was introduced.
History of mulberry fruit