Two Mulberries, Two Stories: A Quick Introduction
When my children were small, probably seven and eight years old, they came home with their friends after playing in the garden next door. My heart stopped at the sight of four pairs of what appeared to be blood-stained feet! After my initial shock and my realization that such an amount of blood was unlikely to be in a quiet Pendleton neighborhood, they told me it was berry juice from the fallen fruit of a tree. This was my first introduction to mulberry, a fruit I had never met. I soon discovered that there are two main species of mulberry in South Carolina. The native red mulberry and the introduced Asian white mulberry each have a fascinating social history.
Red Mulberry (Morus rubra) fruit are typically longer than white mulberry fruit.
Image credit: Kingsakai_stock.adobe.com
Red Mulberry (Morus rubra): Native Treasure
Our native red mulberry (Morus rubra) is a medium-sized deciduous tree (40-70 feet tall and 40-50 feet wide). In nature, it flourishes in moist soil, often wooded riparian areas, and prefers full sun. A distinctive feature of the mulberry is its leaf variation: one tree can have unlobed, bi-lobed, tri-lobed or even multiple-lobed leaves. The Asian species (Morus alba) has a similar stature and leaf shape as the red mulberry, but the leaves are typically smoother and shinier than their native cousin. This import is more likely to be found in sunny urban areas as an “escapee” from cultivation. Since the white mulberry easily hybridizes with the red, there is concern that the genetic make-up of red mulberry will be diluted or lost. Although the red mulberry population is strong in South Carolina, it is threatened or endangered in other areas. For more information on mulberry conservation, see the University of Guelph Arboretum Red Mulberry Conservation.
Cultural & Indigenous Uses
The presence and importance of mulberries to the Indigenous people of the upstate are reflected in the place name Keowee, meaning “place of the mulberries”.[1] Cherokee people valued the fresh berries for their juice, used them as an ingredient in corn dumplings and breads and made them into jam and preserves. The popularity of mulberry fruit was recognized by European settlers as they used the fruit, too. However, the short shelf life of the berries means that they are not commercially viable, and they remain a localized treat.[2] Look for berries in the woods from late May into July, depending on location. Cherokee people also used mulberry medicinally. The sap was used to treat ringworms, and an infusion was made from the bark to treat dysentery and act as a purgative and laxative.[3]
Wildlife Value & Ecology
This is a good wildlife tree; its berries are attractive to around 50 bird species and several small mammals. Red mulberry is a host plant for the mourning cloak caterpillars, whose adults feed on the rotting fruit, sap and nectar.
White Mulberry (Morus alba): Silk-Era Import Turned “Escapee”
Back to my children’s stained feet. It is most likely that the tree they encountered was the Asian white mulberry, not the red.
Colonial Silk Experiments & Pendleton Legacy
White mulberry was introduced into the colonies early in the 1600s when King James I wanted to encourage silk production. Since white mulberry leaves are the preferred food of the silkworm caterpillar (red mulberry leaves were not a success), they were imported into several of the colonies, including South Carolina. Much of the silk activity in South Carolina was due to Eliza Lucas Pinckney, famous for her experiments in indigo and rice production at the coast. She worked hard to introduce silk production into the colony. Although she made enough silk for several gowns, production was time-consuming and labor-intensive, even with an enslaved labor force.[4] So, how did white mulberries reach Pendleton in the Piedmont? The desire for silk production in Pendleton can be linked to its history as a summering place for Charleston’s elite. From 1817 to 1832, a local merchant, Joseph Van Shanklin, used enslaved people to start a silk factory just outside Pendleton (the building still stands on Clark Street). Workers lived in the second-floor dormitory while production took place below. Silkworms were fed mulberry leaves until they formed cocoons. Then, they were tossed into boiling water. The most labor-intensive part of the process followed. The silk had to be manually removed from the cocoon and then spun into thread and woven into cloth. By 1832, it became clear that this operation was too labor-intensive to be profitable, and production ceased[5]. It is probable that the mulberries that stained my children’s feet descended from this experiment or others in the area.
For more information on identifying red or white mulberry, see https://bplant.org/compare/140-141.
- https://www.dnr.sc.gov/managed/wild/jocassee
management3.htm#:~:text=Keowee%20Village%20was%20located%20just%20across%20the,
confluence%20of%20Crowe%20Creek%20and%20Keowee%20River.&text=Keowee%20meant%20%22
The%20Place%20of%20the%20Mulberry%22,that%20drain%20off%20the%20Blue%20Ridge%20Escarpment. - https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/morus-rubra/#:~:text=Fruit%20Description:,displays%20from%20May%20to%20June.
- King’s American Dispensary, 1898, https://www.henriettes-herb.com/eclectic/kings/morus.html
- https://history.textiles.ncsu.edu/textile-industry-history/silk-in-america/#:~:text=South%20Carolina%20was%20the%20next,silk%20culture%20in%20the%20South.
- Information from Tim Drake, local historian and owner of the Silk House on Clark Street.
