Mulberry for edible leaves

[nicolas]

Hi,

it is perhaps more a screening than a breeding project. The goal is to select for good mulberry cultivars for edible leaves

Eric Toensmeier has made some writing on it, it seems there is a cultivar selected for leaf production in Mexico.



Photo from an article on apios institute :


Other cultivars tested by Eric :

Sampled leaves of several varieties this spring. They were a little past their prime and are worth trying again another year.

* "Illinois Everbearing" - fair.

* "White" - fair

Already sampled:

* "Tigrinum" - excellent

* "Gerardi Dwarf" - poor

[agrorev]

There are a bazillion different Morus alba here, mostly bird donated, especially along fence lines. I plan on trying many this spring. One I saw last year had an very pretty thinly branched leaf structure, even finer than the above photo. We have plenty of M. rubra in the woods but the leaves aren't good like alba.

[starry]

What sort of criteria is being used for rating edibility? All the ones I have tried have had very little flavour ... not unpleasant...basically no flavour.
Have not tried them cooked.

[agrorev]

I believe they are to be judged as a cooked green. Eric Toensmeier I think mentioned trying the Tigrinum cooked in a lasagna and something about it being better than spinach...can't remember where I read that.

[ottawagardener]

Yeah, I'm intrigued by this one as well.

[papabearjay]

I've got numerous amounts of mulberry seed if anyone wants it...

[carsten888]

I would love to grow some of that Tigrinum. Anyone got seeds?

[nicolas]

Neither Eric Toensmeier or Las Canadas (Mexico) will send cuttings in foreign countries. Dont know about seeds;

[philip]

I have a friend who has many mulberry varieties. I will try and tell her to taste the leaves and compare them.

[gregmartin]

Just Fruits and Exotics lists an M. alba with high quality edible leaves. Sold out at the moment, but they have a waiting list you can add your name to.