mulberry family

Family Moraceae, composed of about 1,000 species of deciduous or evergreen trees in about 40 genera, found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. Plants of the family contain a milky latex and produce multiple fused fruits. Edible fruits grow on the common mulberry (genus Morus), fig (in the largest genus, Ficus), and breadfruit. Silkworms (see silkworm moth) feed almost exclusively on the leaves of the white mulberry (M. alba). Among the ornamentals in the family are the paper mulberry and the Osage orange (Maclura pomifera). Other species include the India rubber tree, which is often placed in office lobbies, and the wide-spreading banyan tree.

Find more information on mulberry family. Upgrade to Britannica Online for more on mulberry family.