Plant · P-024

Mulberry

Morus rubra

Red Mulberry is a fast-growing native shade tree whose dark purple, blackberry-like fruit ripens over several weeks each summer, sweet enough to eat straight off the branch. Ripe fruit drops and squashes underfoot, staining anything beneath the tree, so it wants siting away from a patio or parked car. It needs both a male and a female tree nearby to set fruit, since its small green flowers are wind-pollinated rather than visited by insects. The wood is coarse, durable and has been used for boats, fencing and furniture, and the tree bleeds heavily if cut while in leaf, so pruning is saved for full winter dormancy.