桑屬落葉喬木或灌木，原產西藏、印度等喜瑪拉雅山脈。灰白色樹皮及黃色根皮很厚。互生卵形葉，長可達15cm，葉緣有鋸齒，幼株的葉片常有缺刻。雌雄同株異花。聚合果長條形，成熟時紅色至紫黑色。開花期春季，結果期春至夏季。

A deciduous tree or shrub in the genus Morus, native to the Himalayas in Tibet and India. The grey-white bark and yellow root epidermis are extremely thick. Leaves alternate and ovate, up to 15 cm long, with serrated margin, leaves of sapling often incised on the margin. Monoecious. Aggregate fruit long, red to purple-black when ripe. Flowering in spring, and fruiting from spring to summer.

適合全日照溫暖環境。於冬季受低溫乾燥刺激落葉，可促進春季開花結果。土壤以排水良好的壤土或砂質壤土為宜，酸鹼質微酸性。桑樹耐修剪，以方便採果。繁殖用嫁接、空中壓條與扦插法。

Suitably grown in warm environments with full sun. Stimulate the leaves to fall off by low temperature and dryness in the winter, which can promote flowering and fruiting in the following spring. It prefers well-drained loam or sandy loam with slightly acidic and alkaline properties. Mulberries are resistant to pruning which makes fruit picking easier. Grafting, air layering and cuttings are used for reproduction.

果實風味甜美。桑樹全株都有用途，「桑梓」甚至成為鄰里的代名詞。木材堅韌，可以製作弓、樂器、家具。樹皮可以造紙，古稱桑皮紙。根皮是中藥，稱為桑白皮。葉片是養蠶的主要原料，臺灣俗稱為娘仔葉。

The fruits are sweet and delicious. In the old time, mulberry and catalpa trees were widely planted for their versatile uses, so “mulberry and catalpa” also means hometown. The wood is hard and can be used to make bows, musical instruments, and furniture; the bark is a material of mulberry paper. The root epidermis is a Chinese traditional medicine, while the leaves are the main food source to rear silkworm which gives rise to its Taiwanese alias.