Morus indica facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Morus indica |
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| Morus indica with unripe berries | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Morus
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| Species: |
indica
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Morus indica is a member of the genus Morus, of the family of flowering plants Moraceae, commonly known as the mulberry family. As with other mulberries, Morus indica is a deciduous tree. Morus indica is native to the temperate and sub-tropical Himalayan region. It is currently cultivated in India, China, Japan, and East Africa.
Description
Morus indica, as with other members of the mulberry family, is often described as either a small tree or a shrub, rarely exceeding 10–15 metres (33–49 feet). When young, the branches are covered in fine, soft hairs known as; however, the plant loses these hair as they grow older. The branches are a light gray-brown color.
The leaves range from 4–12.5 centimetres (1+1⁄2–5 inches) long and 2.5–7.5 cm (1–3 in) wide, and are attached to the tree via petioles. The leaves themselves are usually ovate but sometimes lobed, coming to a narrow point, making them somewhere between caudate and acuminate. The leaves are retuse to slightly cordate, having a small lobe at the base. They are shortly serrated, with each tooth narrowing to a thin point, making them apiculate. The leaf colour is dark green, with a paler underside covered in fine hairs.
Flowers and fruit
Morus indica is a monoecious flowering plant, having male and female flowers growing on the same tree, although often on distinct branches. The male inflorescence is narrow, between 9–11.5 millimetres (3⁄8–7⁄16 in) long, and covered in fine hairs. The female flowers are subglubose, or just shy of spherical. They measure 6–9.5 mm (1⁄4–3⁄8 in) long. The stigma of these flowers is about 3.5 mm long with dense, short hair.
The female flower, after being fertilized, forms a fleshy compound fruit known as a syncarp. This syncarp, which is black when fully ripe, looks like that of Morus nigra, commonly known as a black mulberry.
