Gerardi Dwarf
Disputed — listed variously as Morus alba, as M. alba × M. rubra, and as M. macroura by different sources
The record
- Parentage
- Disputed — listed variously as Morus alba, as M. alba × M. rubra, and as M. macroura by different sources
- Origin
- Selected from the wild by Louis Gerardi; introduced by Gerardi Nursery · O’Fallon, Illinois
- Rights
- rights unknown — No patent, certificate, or trademark found in the sources consulted.
- Also known as
- Girardi, Gerardii
- Habit
- Naturally dwarf and slow-growing — the reason it is planted
- Use
- Suited to small gardens and containers
Description
The dwarf everyone wants, and a good demonstration of the naming problem stated in this file’s notes.
The horticultural facts are consistent across sources: a naturally dwarf, slow-growing mulberry, selected from the wild by Louis Gerardi and introduced by his nursery at O’Fallon, Illinois. The botany is not. It is sold as Morus alba, as an alba × rubra hybrid, and as M. macroura from the Himalayas, by reputable nurseries, at the same time. It also appears under at least three spellings.
Those claims cannot all be right, and nothing in the sources consulted settles it. The parentage field records the dispute rather than resolving it, which is the only honest option — and a useful warning that a confident Latin binomial on a nursery tag is not evidence.
Where to find it
- Burnt Ridge Nursery lists it as M. macroura
- Whitman Farms lists it as M. alba