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MULBERRY TREE MORUS
NIGRA The juice of the leaves is a remedy against the bites of serpents, and for those that have taken Aconite. There are two kinds of Mulberries, the Common Black (M. nigra) and the White (M. alba). It is a large tree growing to 30 foot (9 m) high with a brown rugged bark. The flowers grow in clusters and the deep purple (or white) fruit is oblong and about an inch (25 mm) long. Where to find it: A cultivated tree originally from Asia Minor and Persia, where it grows wild. Flowering time: The fruit ripens in late summer, early autumn. Astrology: Mercury rules the tree. Medicinal virtues: The ripe berries open the body, but the unripe bind it, especially when they are dried. They then stay fluxes, laxes and women's courses. The bark of the root kills broad worms in the belly. The juice from the berries made into a syrup helps inflammations or sores in the mouth or throat. The decoction made of the bark and leaves is good to wash the teeth with when they ache. The leaves bound into place stay bleeding at the mouth or nose, or the bleeding of the piles. Modern uses: The bark is laxative and removes intestinal worms. The fruits are also laxative. They are administered as a convalescent syrup to help patients overcome the effects of fever. They are rich in grape sugar, which provides easily assimilated energy. The syrup is made by adding just under twice as much sugar to the expressed juice of the berries. The dose is half to one teaspoonful. |