Cudrania is a genus of deciduous trees and shrubs in the mulberry family Moraceae, order Rosales, native to East and Southeast Asia. The genus is closely allied to Maclura — so closely that many contemporary botanists subsume Cudrania entirely within a broadly circumscribed Maclura, treating its species as synonyms (for example, Cudrania tricuspidata becomes Maclura tricuspidata, and Cudrania cochinchinensis becomes Maclura cochinchinensis). Under the traditional, narrower concept the genus contains a handful of species centered on China, Vietnam, Korea, and extending through Malesia to northern Australia.
The best-known member, Cudrania tricuspidata (Chinese mulberry or mandarin melon berry), is a small tree reaching around 6 metres, with spiny branches and aggregate fruit superficially resembling a mulberry. Plants are dioecious, bearing male and female flowers on separate individuals. The genus is economically and culturally significant in East Asia: leaves have been used to rear silkworms, bark yields paper and a reddish-yellow dye, roots feature in traditional medicine, the hard wood has been fashioned into archery bows, and the sweet fruit is eaten fresh or fermented into wine.
Distribution
Cudrania species are native to East and Southeast Asia. Cudrania tricuspidata (Chinese mulberry) occurs in China, Vietnam, and Korea. Cudrania cochinchinensis has a wider range spanning China, Vietnam, Malesia, and northern Australia.
Taxonomy Notes
Cudrania is traditionally placed in Moraceae (the mulberry family), order Rosales. The genus is very closely related to Maclura — hybrids between the two have been produced — and a number of modern treatments merge Cudrania into a broadly defined Maclura. Under that circumscription, Cudrania tricuspidata is treated as Maclura tricuspidata and Cudrania cochinchinensis as Maclura cochinchinensis.
Cultural Uses
In East Asian traditions, Cudrania tricuspidata has been valued for multiple uses: its leaves are fed to silkworms as an alternative to mulberry, its bark is processed into paper and yields a reddish-yellow dye, its roots are employed in traditional medicine, and its dense wood has been used for constructing archery bows. The aggregate fruit is edible and can also be fermented into wine.
