Plant · P-461

Korean Mulberry

Morus australis

Korean mulberry is a fast-growing, self-fertile deciduous tree from temperate and subtropical eastern Asia, usually reaching a modest, rounded 25 feet or so despite what larger mulberry species might suggest. The fruit is sweet but mild compared to black or red mulberry, so it works best as a bulk summer fruit for fresh eating, drying and preserves rather than a dessert crop. Its real yield is the foliage - the leaves are a rich, fast-regrowing livestock and rabbit feed, and the classic feed for silkworms, cut back hard and repeatedly through the season. Birds spread the seed widely, so volunteer seedlings turn up well away from the parent tree and need pulling while small if they aren't wanted.