THE DICOTYLEDONES 



1745 



four stamens arranged opposite the perianth segments. Though some- 

 times bent inwards in the bud they do not explode as in the Urticaceae. 

 The gynoecium consists of two carpels, of which one aborts so that the 

 ovary is unilocular and has a single pendulous ovule. The fruit is either 

 an aicene or a drupe but the single fruits are frequently aggregated together 

 by the union of neighbouring flowers to form a pseudocarp, either as 

 a result of modification of the receptacle or through the fusion of the swollen 

 perianth segments. The seeds may be endospermic or non-endospermic 

 and the embryo is usually bent. 



There are no British examples, though several species are commonly 

 grown in gardens. The best known of these is the Mulberry, Morns. The 

 genus contains twelve species which are wild in north temperate regions 

 and on the mountains of the tropics. The White Mulberry (M. alba) is 

 a native of China. It has been cultivated in the Far East from the earliest 

 times and was introduced into Europe in the twelfth century. The Black 

 Mulberry {M. nigra) (Fig. 1623) has also been for long cultivated in Asia 



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Fig. 1623. — Morus nigra. Habit of tree. 



and parts of Europe. In 1548 it was introduced into England, the first 

 tree being planted in the gardens of Syon House, near Richmond on the 

 Thames. The cultivation of the Mulberry is closely bound up with the 

 silk industry because its leaves provide the food of the silkworm cater- 

 pillar. Though M. nigra is chiefly used, it is said that better silk is obtained 

 when the leaves of M. alba are used. The fruit is edible and ripens well in 

 the south of England and Wales. The Mulberry forms a large spreading 

 tree and is frequently used as a specimen tree on law^ns; in later life the 



