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The genus Morus is made up of about 10 kinds of small to medium-sized trees in the family Moraceae. The fruits of these trees are sweet and can be eaten. Mulberries come from temperate Asia and North America. Many kinds are grown for their fruits and as ornamentals. Silkworms also need mulberry trees because they have food for them.
Mulberries lose their leaves every year and have leaves that are toothed and sometimes lobed and are grouped alternately along the stems. People can be monoecious, which means they have both male and female flowers, or dioecious, which means they only have male or female flowers.
The tiny flowers grow in tight groups called catkins. A multiple is the scientific name for a fruit that grows from a whole clump of flowers. The fruits look a bit like strawberries and turn white, pink, red, or purple when they’re ready.
The red mulberry (Morus rubra), which grows in eastern North America, is the biggest tree in its group. It can grow up to 21 meters (70 feet) tall. Its leaves can have two, three, or no lobes, and its dark purple flowers are edible.
White mulberry (M. alba) comes from Asia but has been grown for a long time in southern Europe. Its name comes from the white fruits it bears, and silkworms eat its leaves. It has lived in eastern North America for a long time.
The cold-resistant Russian mulberry (M. alba, variety tatarica), which was brought to western North America for use as shelterbelts and for its wood, is one useful type of white mulberry. Other useful types include the fruitless “Stribling” and “Mapleleaf” kinds. People often plant the weeping mulberry (M. alba ‘Pendula’) as a garden tree.
Black mulberry (M. nigra), which is the most common species, comes from western Asia and was first grown in the west. It was grown a lot in Italy until the 15th century to raise silkworms, but white mulberry has since taken its place.
It is now an imported species in North America, and its main purpose is to grow big, juicy purple-black fruits that taste better than red mulberry fruits.
The white mulberry tree can get as tall as 50 feet and have branches that are as wide as it is tall. It can handle dryness, pollution, and bad soil. The cap is round and open.
This tree can get as big as 40 feet. It likes the ground to be wet and open. It also has a round crown made of its thick branches. It is native to North America and lives in plains and small gaps in forests.
The smallest tree is the black mulberry, which can grow up to 30 feet tall and wide. It grows in a thick way and often needs wood to support it.
The wild mulberry grows to be 60 feet tall very quickly. It spreads quickly and doesn’t mind bad circumstances.
Along a branch, mulberry leaves are spaced out in an alternating design. They aren’t always symmetrical, with two oval lobes or three fleur-de-lys-shaped lobes.
The glossy green leaves have veins that spread out from the stem and have serrated ends. The curve isn’t even, and the lobes are in the wrong place.
It has short leaves that look like hearts. The red mulberry has rough leaves with tips that are pointy.
The red mulberry has inch-long, red to black leaves that taste sweet and sour. The black mulberry has the best tart-sweet taste in its black, 2-inch-long leaves.
The least tasty mulberry fruit is the white one. They are also the tiniest and range in color from white to purple.
Durese, which are mulberries, are a group of small fruits, each with a seed. They look like strawberries.
Any type of mulberry tree can be used to make the barren mulberry. It makes a lot of pollen, which can make people with allergies sick.
It can grow up to 50 feet tall and has a thick crown with a round top. The leaves don’t all have the same shape. They can be oval or have lobes. Young twigs are a color between orange and brown. They have bunches of light-green flowers that don’t stand out. Any kind of dirt is good for it.
The white mulberry tree has spread to all 50 states except Nevada and Alaska. It lives in old fields, along roadsides, in forests, in cities, and in other places that have been changed.
It manages to do well in places that aren’t very friendly. Some cities, like El Paso, TX, and Phoenix, AZ, don’t let it live there because they see it as a pest.
The United States is home to red mulberry trees. They mostly grow in Zones 4–9 in the New England states.
The black mulberry comes from Asia and does best in Grow Zones 5 through 9. It grows best in open, well-drained, sandy soil. For its big, sweet berries, it is the most sought-after.
From June to September, they have flowers. Once the berries start to fall, you have a whole month to pick them. Put a tarp on the ground and gently shake the branches to get the fruit. They don’t need a mate because they can make their own seeds.
The berries can get on clothes and other things and color them. Birds love to eat them, and then they spread the seeds to other places. Animals in the woods are also drawn to the food.
You now know how to spot a mulberry tree. There may be blackberries on a tree near a road or in the woods. Before you pick them, check the leaves. Then be happy about what you found.
Mulberry trees aren’t often sold at local gardens. They think they are a bothersome weed. Use Google to find approved nurseries near you that sell mulberry trees that have been grown.
Dwarf mulberry bushes can be bought at StarkBros. Nursery. They make the sweetest berries, and that size would make them easier to handle.
Do not cut the roots of a mulberry plant that you find in your yard. Instead, pull it up. If not, cut it down and cover the stump with Roundup or white vinegar that hasn’t been reduced. It might need more than one entry.
