The
red mulberry (
Morus rubra) is a species of
mulberryMorus or Mulberry is a genus of 10–16 species of deciduous trees native to warm temperate and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas, with the majority of the species native to Asia....
native to
easternThe Eastern Half of The United States, the American East, or simply the East is traditionally defined as the states east of the Mississippi River...
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
, from northernmost
OntarioOntario is a province located in east-central Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area. Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and 5 U.S...
and
VermontThe State of Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area. It has a population of 621,270, making it the second least-populated state...
south to southern
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
and west to southeast
South DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. South Dakota was carved out of the southern half of the Dakota Territory and admitted to the Union on November 2, 1889...
and central
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
. Although red mulberry is common in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, it is listed as an
endangered speciesAn endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters. Also it could mean that due to deforestation there may be a lack of food and/or water...
in
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
It is a
deciduousDeciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
tree, growing to 10-15 m tall, rarely 20 m, with a trunk up to 50 cm diameter. The leaves are alternate, 7-14 cm long and 6-12 cm broad, simple, broadly cordate, with a shallow notch at the base, typically unlobed on mature trees although often with 2-3 lobes, particularly on young trees, and with a finely serrated margin.
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The
red mulberry (
Morus rubra) is a species of
mulberryMorus or Mulberry is a genus of 10–16 species of deciduous trees native to warm temperate and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas, with the majority of the species native to Asia....
native to
easternThe Eastern Half of The United States, the American East, or simply the East is traditionally defined as the states east of the Mississippi River...
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
, from northernmost
OntarioOntario is a province located in east-central Canada, the largest by population and second largest, after Quebec, in total area. Ontario is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east, and 5 U.S...
and
VermontThe State of Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area. It has a population of 621,270, making it the second least-populated state...
south to southern
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
and west to southeast
South DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. South Dakota was carved out of the southern half of the Dakota Territory and admitted to the Union on November 2, 1889...
and central
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
. Although red mulberry is common in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, it is listed as an
endangered speciesAn endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters. Also it could mean that due to deforestation there may be a lack of food and/or water...
in
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
It is a
deciduousDeciduous means falling off at maturity or tending to fall off and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
tree, growing to 10-15 m tall, rarely 20 m, with a trunk up to 50 cm diameter. The leaves are alternate, 7-14 cm long and 6-12 cm broad, simple, broadly cordate, with a shallow notch at the base, typically unlobed on mature trees although often with 2-3 lobes, particularly on young trees, and with a finely serrated margin. The upper surface of the leaves is noticeably rough, similar in texture to fine sandpaper, and unlike the lusterous upper surface of the leaves of
white mulberryThe White Mulberry is a short-lived, fast-growing, small to medium sized mulberry tree, which grows to 10–20 m tall.The species is native to northern China, and is widely cultivated elsewhere...
. The underside of the leaves is covered with soft hairs. It is hardy up to -25° Celsius (USDA Zone 5).
The flowers are relatively inconspicuous: small, yellowish green or reddish green, and opening as leaves emerge. Male and female flowers are usually on separate trees although they may occur on the same tree.
The fruit is a compound cluster of several small
drupeIn botany, a drupe is a fruit in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from flowers with superior ovaries...
s, similar in appearance to a
blackberryThe blackberry is an edible berry in the Rubus genus and the Rosaceae family. The fruit are botanically termed an aggregate fruit and they are produced on plants that typically have biennial canes and perennial roots. Blackberries and raspberries are also called caneberries or brambles...
, 2-3 cm long, red ripening dark purple, edible and very sweet with a good flavor.
Status
The species is threatened by extensive hybridization with the
invasive'Invasive species' is a phrase with several definitions. The first definition expresses the phrase in terms of non-indigenous species that adversely affect the habitats they invade economically, environmentally or ecologically...
white mulberryThe White Mulberry is a short-lived, fast-growing, small to medium sized mulberry tree, which grows to 10–20 m tall.The species is native to northern China, and is widely cultivated elsewhere...
, introduced from
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
.
Uses
The first English colonists to explore eastern Virginia in 1607 mentioned the abundance of both mulberry trees and their fruit, which was eaten, sometimes boiled, by the native
PowhatanThe Powhatan , or Powhatan Renape , is the name of a Virginia Indian tribe. It is also the name of a powerful confederacy of tribes which they dominated. The confederacy is estimated to have been about 14,000-21,000 people in eastern Virginia, when the English settled Jamestown in 1607...
tribes. Today it is sometimes still eaten by those lucky enough to come across it.