Nature

Species: Morus

Age: Centuries-old

Details: The species found in Greece originate from Asia. However, the mulberry had been planted across the Peloponnese since ancient times and it is even likely that “Morias”, the old name for the Peloponnese, derives from the Greek word for the tree.

According to tradition, this mulberry tree is associated with an incident that took place when the revolutionary hero Grigorios Dikaios, popularly known as Papaflessas, was still a child. It is said that the local Ottoman bey sent troops to seize a large part of the harvest from the village of Poliani, the birthplace of Papaflessas. When the loaded mules were tied up at the mulberry tree, the young Grigorios set a bunch of horseflies loose on their rears, causing the animals to buck and throw off their loads. In reprisal, it is said that the bey’s troops tied up three local children and dragged them along the ground.