描述
Morus nigra, the black mulberry, is a species of flowering plant in the family Moraceae, native to southwestern Asia, where it has been cultivated for so long that its precise natural range is unknown. The edible fruit is dark purple, almost black, when ripe, 2-3 centimetres (0.8-1.2 in) long, a compound cluster of several small drupes; it is richly flavoured, similar to the red mulberry (Morus rubra) but unlike the more insipid fruit of the white mulberry (Morus alba). Black (Morus nigra) mulberries are thought to have originated in the mountainous areas of Mesopotamia and Persia and are now widespread throughout Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, India, Pakistan, Syria, and Turkey, where the tree and the fruit are known by the Persian-derived names toot (mulberry) of shahtoot (شاه توت) (king's or "superior" mulberry), or, in Arabic, shajarat tukki. Jams and sherbets are often made from the fruit in this region.