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Mulberry
The fruit was originally white and became blood-red from the
blood of Pyramus and Thisbe. The tale is, that Thisbe was to meet her
lover at the white mulberry-tree near the tomb of Ninus, in a suburb
of Babylon. Being scared by a lion, Thisbe fled, and, dropping her
veil, it was besmeared with blood. Pyramus, thinking his lady-love had
been devoured by a lion, slew himself, and Thisbe, coming up soon
afterwards, stabbed herself also. The blood of the lovers stained the
white fruit of the mulberry-tree into its present colour.
The botanical name is Morus, from the Greek moros (a fool);
so called, we are told in the Hortus Anglicus, because “it is
reputed the wisest of all flowers, as it never buds till the cold
weather is past and gone.”
In the Seven Champions (pt. i. chap. iv.) we are told that
Eglantine, daughter of the King of Thessaly, was transformed into a
mulberry-tree.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894 More on Mulberry from Infoplease:
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