Tree highlight: red mulberry
Red mulberry
Morus rubra (Family Moraceae)
Red Mulberry is a deciduous tree that produces bright, edible berries
The basics
Red mulberry is a fast-growing deciduous tree native to eastern North America, from Massachusetts west to southern Minnesota, south to central Texas and east to Florida. It grows up to 60 feet tall and thrives in moist valleys and floodplains. Red mulberry, also called ‘Moral,’ has rough, sandpapery leaves with coarse serrated margins that are 4–7 inches in length. The leaf base where it attaches to the petiole is unequal and the leaf shape is highly variable; leaves may be teardrop-shaped with no lobes, mitten-shaped with two lobes, or with three lobes. Red mulberry produces sweet, dark purple-red fruit that resembles miniature blackberries. The non-native, invasive white mulberry (Morus alba) is similar in form, but can be distinguished by its shiny, smooth leaves and its fruit, which ranges in color from white to black.Did you know?
- Red mulberries are typically dioecious, with both male and female flowers on the same tree, but they can be monoecious, having only one flower sex on an individual tree.
- Red mulberry fruit is edible and used in jams, pies, and teas.
- Indigenous people used red mulberry fruit for food and the bark for textiles, weaving together the fibrous inner bark of young shoots.
A variety of leaf shapes may be found on a single tree
Fruit resembles miniature blackberries
Wildlife
- The fruits of red mulberry are readily eaten by birds, raccoons, opossums, squirrels, and other wildlife.
- Red mulberry trees have dense crowns that provide cover and nesting habitat for birds and small mammals.
- Red mulberry serves as a host plant for various insects.
Uses
- Although it is considered a non-timber tree species, red mulberry wood is rot resistant and is used for fence posts and agricultural implements.
- Red mulberry is an excellent choice for wildlife gardens, as its fruit draws many species.
Reddish-brown bark of red mulberry tree
Benefits
Over a 20-year period, a healthy red mulberry with a diameter of 10 inches will offset 4,963 car miles worth of CO2, absorb enough stormwater to fill 736 bathtubs, and remove an amount of pollution from the air – in gaseous and particulate form – equivalent in weight to 40 smartphones! Learn more at: https://mytree.itreetools.org/
Tree of the Week Video
By University of Kentucky Forestry and Natural Resources Extension
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