A mantle of frost dusted...

[alpacinou]

Have I used "mantle" correctly and naturally? Are these okay?

1. A mantle of frost dusted the naked branches of mulberries.
2. A mantle of frost coated the mulberries' naked branches.

 

[teechar]

Is there a reason why the first does not say "the mulberries"?

 

[alpacinou]

Is there a reason why the first does not say "the mulberries"?

It was a slip.

Are these okay?

1. A mantle of frost dusted the naked branches of the mulberries.

2. A mantle of frost coated the mulberries' naked branches.

 

[Tarheel]

@alpacinou Yes, they're fine.

 

[teechar]

It was a slip.

OK. But note that the sentence without "the" is also okay! It just implies that you were not talking about particular/previously mentioned mulberries.

 

[emsr2d2]

I wouldn't expect to see "the naked branches of the mulberries". Mulberries don't have branches. Mulberry trees have branches and those branches have mulberries growing on them. In this case, there are "branches of mulberries" and those branches are naked. However, that is a bit confusing. If they're naked, they don't have mulberries on them.
The only way to make the sentences work would be to use "of the mulberry trees" in the first and "the mulberry trees' naked branches" in the second.

 

[teechar]

I think it's okay to say "mulberries", meaning "mulberry trees/bushes".

mulberry: "a small soft purple fruit, or the tree that has these fruit".

mulberry

1. a small soft purple fruit, or the tree that has these fruit 2. a small soft…

dictionary.cambridge.org