Growing beside the Murray Walk the unusual fruits of this tree can be spotted if you look up into the canopy.
A member of the mulberry family (Moraceae) the genus Broussonetia contains seven woody species from Asia and Polynesia, all of which have alternate, toothed leaves. Broussonetia papyrifera is one of the more ornamental species, grown for it’s large ovate or lobed, hairy leaves, pendent male catkins and curious globular fruits. As it’s common name paper mulberry suggests, this species is used for the production of paper, which is made from the bark, though in Polynesia it is grown as a source of fibre for cloth, and the leaves may be steamed as a food source. A native of China and Japan B. papyrifera was introduced to our gardens in the early eighteenth century.