Mulberry
Mulberry (Morus nigra)
- Diameter: 0.60 metres, Height: 6 metres
- Age (Estimated): 50 - 100 years
- Crown spread: North - 4 metres, East - 2 metres, South - 3 metres, West - 3 metres
Despite the word of the famous rhyme, the Mulberry grows tall enough to be considered a tree rather than a bush. The Black Mulberry, which is most commonly found growing in Britain, is the one most suited to our climate. It is a Roman tree, possibly introduced around the 14th century, or even well before that.
Both parts of its Latin name refer to the colour black. The word Morus comes from the Greek for black, a reference to the fact that the trees fruits change colour as they ripen from reddish to black. The Greeks believed this colour change occurred because Pyramus and Thisbe dies beneath the shade of a Black Mulberry and the tree absorbed their blood. The other part of its name Nigra comes from the Latin for black.
The last tree surviving in Poole was planted at the instigation of the R'end Peter William Jolliffe, longest serving rector of St James. Planted by various landovers to provide the Hugenots with the source of silk industry, it was the Mulberry that fed the silkworms. In this century, this particular specimen was saved by the vigilant flat occupiers who on witnessing the developer bulldozing the immediate area, called on their ward councillors in time for an injunction to be served, thus permitting the tree to be made safe. A good example of a Mulberry can be seen on Lagland Street
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