The Mulberry That Unlocked Silk: A Forbidden Secret and the Death Penalty for Revelation
In 2600 BCE, Chinese Empress Si Linshi sat in a garden, sipping tea beneath a mulberry tree. A silkworm cocoon fell into her cup. The hot water softened it, and when she tugged it free, a single thread stretched into view. Thus began the Silk Age, a luxury so tightly guarded that revealing it carried the death penalty for centuries. Yet all this opulence rests on a humble tree with purple berries — a tree some today dismiss as a weed. But the mulberry fed empires and still offers its fruit to those who look. It is the quiet ancestor of silk, teaching restraint and abundance.
In This Article:
Mulberry: The World-Spanning Tree
The mulberry, Morus, belongs to the mulberry family and grows almost anywhere warmth allows — from China to Africa, from the Mediterranean to the Americas. In Russia, the first mulberry trees appeared during Ivan the Terrible's reign. The tsar dreamed of a domestic silk industry, but the climate proved too harsh for delicate silkworms. Later efforts by Peter the Great and Catherine II to build silk production failed. Yet the trees took root in the south and now delight locals with their berries. The color of mulberry fruit is not simply a matter of ripeness. It depends on the tree variety. White mulberry (Morus alba) yields pale fruit; black mulberry (Morus nigra) yields dark fruit — though there are exceptions, with white trees bearing purple fruit and vice versa.
The Silk-Eating Monster: The Silkworm
The silkworm is the most finicky eater in the insect world: these caterpillars feed exclusively on white mulberry leaves. If you try to feed them something else, they will starve rather than eat. In 30 days of life, one caterpillar eats about 40 grams of leaves — 40,000 times its birth weight. Imagine a newborn that could consume 120 tons of food in a month.
From Leaves to Loom: How Silk Became a Sacred Resource
For millennia, Chinese people refined the cultivation of mulberry for silkworms: leaves were pruned to yield the most tender leaves, and there were treatises on how to fertilize trees, when to harvest leaves, and how to store them. The silk industry turned a common tree into an object of reverence. In the southern regions of the former Soviet Union, the mulberry season brings chaos: ripe fruits fall with the slightest breeze, turning streets into a purple minefield. The juice acts like a natural glue, staining skin, clothing, and fabrics that are stubborn to wash away. People worldwide use mulberries in many ways. Armenia makes doushab — a thick, sugar-free syrup that lasts for years. Azerbaijan makes bekmez — cooked mulberry juice similar to honey. In Turkey, dried white mulberries are eaten as candy. In China, leaves are brewed into tea with a light herbal flavor and are said to help lower blood sugar.
Science, Healing, and a Humble Gift
Modern science confirms many healing properties of mulberry. The fruit contains resveratrol, the antioxidant famous from red wine. The leaves are rich in flavonoids that help regulate blood sugar. The bark has anti-inflammatory properties, and the roots are used in Chinese medicine for coughs and swelling. Perhaps the most surprising discovery comes from Japan: the protein from mulberry leaves, which silkworms digest, can be used to create artificial skin for treating burns. The circle is complete — a tree that provided silk to clothe the world can also help heal people. In China people say, "Plant a mulberry tree, and your great-grandchildren will thank you." Silk does not yield quick profits, but it feeds generations. It teaches patience, humility, and generosity. In an era of Instagram and smoothie bowls, the mulberry has fallen out of fashion. You cannot photograph it for stories, sell it in eco-markets, or wear it white without risking a stain. Yet this is its greatness: it exists here and now for those nearby, not for likes or deliveries. This article was written without advertising—only pure enthusiasm and your support. If Book of Plants inspires you, support the project with any amount. Each donation helps tell another story from the world of botany: https://dzen.ru/knigarasteniy?donate=true
