葉 Ppongnamu Ip (뽕나무 잎)

Mulberry Leaf (葉)

This short entry covers the leaf of the mulberry tree. In the Dongui Bogam, it appears not as a standalone article but as a supplementary note attached to the preceding entry on mulberry root bark (桑根白皮, sanggeun baekpi) — which is why it does not carry the full profile of nature, flavor, and effects that longer entries include.

The original text draws a distinction between cultivated and wild trees: leaves from mulberries grown at home were called "house mulberry leaf" (家桑葉, gasangyeop), setting them apart from trees that grew wild in the mountains. Among these, leaves with a divided, lobed shape were known as "chicken mulberry" (雞桑, gyesang) and were ranked as the finest.

For harvesting, the leaves that sprouted anew in summer and autumn were left on the tree until after the first frost, then picked for use. Leaves gathered after frost came to be called "frost mulberry leaf" (霜桑葉, sangsangyeop), a name still used for them in the trade today.

Mulberry leaves are, of course, best known as the food of silkworms. In modern Korea they are also dried and steeped as mulberry leaf tea.