Mulberry

a tree of the nettle family, related to the hop and to the Osage orange. It has a milky juice, broad leaves, and an aggregate fruit reminding one of a blackberry. The black mulberry is cultivated for its fruit, chiefly in Europe. The red mulberry is native to the United States, ranging from Massachusetts and Kansas to Florida and Texas. It is cultivated for its fruit and is not without value for lumber. The white mulberry is an Old World species. It is raised for its fruit, but chiefly for its leaves. The latter are the natural food of silkworms. See Pyramus And Thisbe; Silk