Morus rubra
(Red Mulberry)
Common Names, Latin Name and Family
Its common name is red mulberry, or may just simply be called mulberry.
Its Latin name is Morus rubra.
It is in the Moraceae, or mulberry, family.
Form
The red mulberry is a deciduous, dioecious, tree so it loses its leaves in the winter and male and female flowers are on separate trees.
It grows to a mature height of approximately 40 – 60 feet with a central trunk.
Leaves
The leaves are large and somewhat heart shaped growing from 10 – 20 cm in length.
They are alternate with toothed margins. Some leaves may be lobed, but not as severely as the invasive, non-native, white mulberry (Morus alba) and tend to be more mitten shaped when they are found to be lobed.
Flowers
The red mulberry tree is dioecious and has male and female flowers on separate trees although occurrences of trees with both flowers on one tree have been documented.
The male flowers are much longer than the female.
The flowers appear in late winter as the leaves begin to emerge.
In central Florida red mulberries bloom in late February and early March.
Fruit
The fruit is an elongated berry that turns from green to red to dark purple when fully ripe.
Habitat
It occurs naturally in mixed woodlands, hammocks, and pinelands.
Native Range
In Florida it occurs throughout most of the state with the exception of a few counties in the very center of the state.
It is native to AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NE, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, and WV.
Red mulberry grows in zones 5a to 9b.
Landscape Use
In the home landscape it grows in part shade to full sun with dry to moist, well drained, soil.
It can be planted under larger trees such as live oak, but does best if given its own growing space.
It can be grown as an understory tree or as a specimen tree.
The red mulberry (Morus rubra) is a perfect addition to a wildlife habitat or edible landscape.
Wildlife Use
Red mulberry fruit is prized by wildlife.
Wildlife from songbirds to mammals all enjoy red mulberry fruit. For humans the best time to eat red mulberry fruit is when it it fully ripe and a deep, dark, purple. However, wildlife will eat the fruit at most stages.
Human Use
Ripe fruit is delicious and can be eaten out of hand, cooked into jams and jellies, or baked into pies.
Propagation
Propagation is achieved through seeds, growing cuttings, or transplanting saplings.
Germinating from seeds can be tedious and requires cold stratification and may not always be successful.
Cuttings are best when using the fresh branch tips and dipped in rooting hormone.
When transplanting seedlings, or saplings, remember to remove flowers and fruit to allow the transplant to recover more quickly. Keep it watered until you see new growth. I have transplanted some very large saplings so if the tree is going to be destroyed it is worth a shot at transplanting it and saving it.
The related white mulberry (Morus alba) is native to China and can be extremely invasive creating a monoculture where it grows. So if you find that growing in your green space my advice is to remove it as soon as possible.
Next article: Tough Bully