Chinese mulberry (Morus bombycis)
A mulberry species native to East Asia, historically cultivated for silkworm feed. In everyday contexts, simply referred to as ヤマグワ.
The leaves of the Chinese mulberry have been used as feed for silkworms.
kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa)
A flowering dogwood species native to East Asia, producing edible red fruit. Often confused with ヤマボウシ, which is a different species.
See also: ヤマボウシ
ヤマグワ is often mistaken for ヤマボウシ (kousa dogwood).
Katakana spelling is common for plant names; usually written in kana.
Kanji form is rare; the word is usually written in kana.
Compound of 山 (yama, 'mountain') and 桑 (kuwa, 'mulberry') or グワ (kuwa) for the dogwood sense. The exact origin of the dogwood sense is uncertain; it may be a homophone or a separate word.