Meaning & use
Dutch tree
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableold-fashionedrare
An old name for the black mulberry tree, once grown in Europe for its fruit and leaves.
Grammar: Countable: a Dutch tree, several Dutch trees.
Patterns
- plant a Dutch tree
- a Dutch tree in the garden
In old garden books, the black mulberry is sometimes called a Dutch tree.
A Dutch tree stood at the end of the orchard, heavy with dark fruit.
The name 'Dutch tree' appears in seventeenth-century records of English gardens.
Word forms
| plural | Dutch trees |
|---|
Common combinations
- an old Dutch tree
- An old Dutch tree shaded the courtyard.
- plant a Dutch tree
- They planted a Dutch tree for its berries.
- the fruit of the Dutch tree
- The fruit of the Dutch tree was used to make jam.
Synonyms and how they differ
- black mulberry
- The modern, standard name for the same tree; use this in normal writing today.
- mulberry
- The general name for the tree and its fruit, without specifying the species.
Word family
- mulberry noun
- The tree or its dark purple fruit.
- Dutch adjective
- Relating to the Netherlands; used in many plant and food names.
Commonly confused: Dutch tree or Dutch elm?
Dutch tree vs Dutch elm
A Dutch elm is an elm tree, and 'Dutch elm disease' is a famous tree disease; it is not the same as a Dutch tree (mulberry).
Practice
What does 'Dutch tree' most likely refer to in an old gardening text?
Choose one answer.
'Dutch tree' is an old name for the black mulberry. It does not simply mean any tree from the Netherlands, and it is not a shoe or a disease.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Dutch tree”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.