Hortus Botanicus Leiden, Netherlands

Common name: Chinese Moerbei, Cudrang, kujibbong, storehousebush, mandarin melon berry, silkworm thorn, 柘 zhe

Family: Moraceae (Mulberry family)

Synonym: Cudrania tricuspidata

Distribution: China, Korea

IUCN Red list: Least concern

Life form: Tree

Comments: Deciduous shrub with thorns. Chinese mulberries are dioecious, meaning male and female flowers are on separate plants. They bloom in June and July. In the Hortus, the male and female mulberries grow side by side in the Chinese garden. In ten years, they can grow into three-meter-high shrubs and only after ten years the plant starts to bloom. The flowers appear on the one-year-old wood, so prune annually. Adequately winter-hardy. The fruits are reminiscent of strawberries and, once ripe, taste refreshingly sweet at the beginning of winter. Various parts of the plant are used in traditional Chinese medicine. Previously, Maclura was considered a genus with only one species: Maclura pomifera. Later, after scientific research, the classification was revised, and other genera were added, including Cudrania. Cudrania tricuspidata became Maclura tricuspidata.