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12(1): Medicinal and poisonous plants 1

Morus australis Poir.

This article should be read together with the article on the genus: Morus in the Handbook volume indicated above in this database.

Lamk, Encycl. 4: 380 (1797).

Morus acidosa Griffith (1854), Morus cavaleriei H. Lév. (1911), Morus inusitata H. Lév. (1914).

Korean mulberry (En). Mûrier (Fr). Vietnam:d[aaj]u t[awf]m, d[aaj]u t[af]u, d[aa]u ta.

Originally from China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan; cultivated in Indo-China, the Philippines and Java, occasionally naturalized.

In Java Morus australis is used to feed silkworms; medicinal applications are mainly reported from its native region. In Vietnam a decoction of the leaves is used in the treatment of coughs and colds, and insomnia. A decoction of the root-bark is used against asthma, rheumatism and oliguria.

A large shrub or small tree up to 10 m tall; leaves ovate to broadly ovate, 5-20 cm x 3-12 cm, rounded to shallowly cordate at base, long acuminate at apex, nearly glabrous to soft-hairy below, with a 1-4 cm long petiole; male spikes 1.5-3 cm long, female spikes erect or patent, broadly oblong, 1-2 cm long; syncarp oblong to ellipsoid, 1.5-3.5 cm long. In its natural habitats, Morus australis is fairly common at low and moderate altitudes.

[97] Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr, R.C., 1963-1968. Flora of Java. 3 volumes. Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands. Vol. 1 (1963) 647 pp., Vol. 2 (1965) 641 pp., Vol. 3 (1968) 761 pp.
[364] Doan Thi Nhu, Do Huy Bich, Pham Kim Man, Nguyen Thuong Thuc, Bui Xuan Chuong & Pham Duy Mai (Editors), 1993. Les plants médicinales au Vietnam. Livre 2. Médicine traditionelle et pharmacopée [The medicinal plants of Vietnam. Volume 2. Traditional medicine and pharmacopoeia]. Agence de coopération Culturelle et Technique, Paris, France. 189 pp.
[753] Ko, H.H., Yu, S.M., Fo, F.N., Teng, C.M. & Lin, C.N., 1997. Bioactive constituents of Morus australis and Broussonetia papyrifera. Journal of Natural Products 60(10): 1008-1011.
[856] Liao, J.-C., 1996. Moraceae. In: Huang, T.-C. (Editor): Flora of Taiwan. 2nd Edition. Vol. 2. Editorial Committee of the Flora of Taiwan, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China. pp. 136-195.
[900] Mansfeld, R., 1986. Verzeichnis landwirtschaflicher und gaertnerischer Kulturpflanzen (ohne Zierpflanzen) [Register of agricultural and horticultural plants (withouth ornamentals)]. 2nd Edition, revised by J. Schultze-Motel. 4 volumes. Springer Verlag, Berlin, Germany. 1998 pp.
[1126] Perry, L.M., 1980. Medicinal plants of East and Southeast Asia. Attributed properties and uses. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States & London, United Kingdom. 620 pp.
[1252] Rohwer, J.G., 1993. Moraceae. In: Kubitzki, K., Rohwer, J.G. & Bittrich, V. (Editors): The families and genera of vascular plants. Volume 2. Springer Verlag, Berlin, Germany. p. 438-453.
[1276] Samsijah, 1986. Jenis daun murbei dan ras ulat yang cocok untuk pengembangan persutraan alam di Payakumbuh, Sumatra Barat [Leaves of mulberry species and silkworm races suitable for the development of the silk industry in the Payakumbuh a

D.S. Alonzo

Alonzo, D.S., 1999. Morus australis Poir.. In: de Padua, L.S., Bunyapraphatsara, N. and Lemmens, R.H.M.J. (Editors): Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 12(1): Medicinal and poisonous plants 1. PROSEA Foundation, Bogor, Indonesia. Database record: prota4u.org/prosea