Marcel Robischon, Professor of Agroecology at the HU, has been working with his students on the propagation of historical mulberry trees. The work can be seen as a pop-up exhibition from 24 August.
A large mulberry tree stands between the former main building of the Albrecht Daniel Thaer Institute at Invalidenstraße 42 and the Natural History Museum. ’In one of the lecture theatres, we have its crown in front of the window and during the lecture we can see how pigeons and other birds feast on the fruit in summer,’ says Marcel Robischon. ’It has a very deeply furrowed grey bark and every leaf really does have a different shape.’ Some have a lateral lobe to the left or right like a mitten, others are single, double or even more often incised, some are pointed, others rounded.The Professor of Agroecology at the Albrecht Daniel Thaer Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences at the Humboldt-Universität’s Faculty of Life Sciences has been working with his students on the propagation of historical mulberry trees during the summer semester. The students’ work can be seen during the Lange Nacht der Museen, learning and research project ’Agritecture’, which the HU is dedicating to the topic of the ’Green City’ together with teachers and students from the Berlin University of Applied Sciences.
Mulberry trees in Berlin
The work of students from both universities can be seen at the Lange Nacht der Museen. The trees propagated by HU students are exhibited alongside photographs and collages by BHT students in the Huguenot Museum. It was the French religious refugees who brought the mulberry tree to Berlin and Brandenburg, where silkworms feed on its foliage. In the hope of producing the precious material independently, Frederick William I had the first mulberry trees planted and his son Frederick II even had entire plantations established.Today, some of these historic mulberry trees can still be found in Berlin. ’Miraculously, they have even survived the turmoil of war,’ says Marcel Robischon. ’You can see three very old ones at the church in Zehlendorf, for example, and one in the churchyard in Alt-Lübars. There is also an ancient mulberry tree here near our North Campus, not far from Friedrichstraße in the courtyard of the old French Hospital.’ It is said to be around 300 years old. The students and the forestry scientist have grown very young mulberry trees in the laboratory. The descendants of the ancient trees will also be on display at the Long Night of Museums.
The HU students had been given the cuttings of a historic mulberry tree by the gardening department and had made it sprout. They did not simply take cuttings, as this would use up too much of the valuable tree’s material. ’We train agricultural and horticultural scientists. Vegetative propagation techniques, with which you can grow a new, genetically identical tree from a large old one, are important in plant cultivation,’ says Marcel Robischon.
However, the students did not simply take cuttings, as this would use up too much material from the valuable trees. They learnt the in-vitro technique and used a micro-cuttings in a closed, sterile room in a glass, on a gelatinous nutrient medium that looks like a transparent jelly. ’This has to be done very carefully. The students have practised this technique and can now use it in the future.’ Many ornamental plants are propagated using precisely this method. All it takes is a single, previously sterilised bud. ’If you do it right, roots form, the bud breaks open and the shoot grows into a whole plant,’ says Marcel Robischon. New mulberry trees for Berlin are growing from the successful cultures of the HU students, as living monuments to the history of the Huguenot silk manufacturers.
Mulberry City: pop-up exhibition at the Huguenot Museum
The ’Mulberry City’ exhibition at the Huguenot Museum in Berlin presents photographs, collages and plants on the history of silk. The works on display focus on historical and modern aspects of silk production and processing as well as the propagation of historical mulberry trees. The white mulberry is the basis for the breeding of the silkworm, as the caterpillar feeds exclusively on the leaves of this tree. The works were created in the interdisciplinary project ’Agritecture’ with students from the Berlin University of Applied Sciences and the Department of Agroecology at Humboldt-Universität The exhibition can be seen from 24 August (Long Night of the Museums) until 12 October.HU at the Lange Nacht der Museen 2024
Humboldt Lab: Short guided tour through the exhibition ’After Nature’Museum: Humboldt Forum
How are climate change, working conditions in a textile factory in Bangladesh and the extinction of insects in the Uckermark region connected? The exhibition in the Humboldt Laboratory focuses on crises in ecological and social systems and links objects from historical collections with contemporary debates and current research.
Starting times: From 7 pm to 11 pm every 60 minutes
Duration: 30 minutes
Address: Humboldt Forum, Schloßplatz, 10178 Berlin
