Morus alba (White Mulberry)
| Also known as: | |
|---|---|
| Genus: | Morus |
| Family: | Moraceae (Mulberry) |
| Life cycle: | perennial woody |
| Origin: | China |
| Status: |
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| Habitat: | part shade, sun; moist to dry disturbed soil; woodland edges, fencerows, thickets, along streams, railroads |
| Bloom season: | May - June |
| Plant height: | 20 to 50 feet |
| Wetland Indicator Status: | GP: FACU MW: FAC NCNE: FACU |
| MN county distribution (click map to enlarge): |  |
| National distribution (click map to enlarge): |  |
Pick an image for a larger view. See the glossary for icon descriptions.
Detailed Information
Flower: 
![[photo of male flowers]](/udata/r9ndp23q/pd3/morus-alba-7868-2.jpg)
Male and female flowers are borne separately, usually on different trees (dioecious), in clusters called catkins, a few catkins emerging from buds along 1-year-old branches at about the same time as the leaves. Male catkins are ascending to pendulous in flower, ¾ to 2 inches long, green to yellowish, each flower in the cluster with 4 stamens.
![[photo of female flowers]](/udata/r9ndp23q/pd3/morus-alba-516-4.jpg)
Female catkins are erect to ascending and more compact, oval to short-cylindric, to 3/8 inch long, each flower with a somewhat flattened, oval green ovary and a whitish to reddish, 2-parted style. Cluster stalks on both male and female catkins are hairy.
Leaves and bark:
![[leaf scan]](/udata/r9ndp23q/trees/morus-alba-white-mulberry-812.jpg)
Leaves are alternate and simple, unlobed or irregularly 2 to 7-lobed, most lobes with rounded tips, the terminal lobe pointed or with abrupt taper to a pointed tip. The blade is generally egg-shaped in outline, 3 to 4 inches long, 1¼ to 3 inches wide, on a hairy stalk 1 to 2 inches long. Edges are coarsely toothed often with rounded teeth, the upper surface dark green, usually smooth and somewhat shiny, the lower surface lighter green with sparse hairs along veins or sometimes tufts of hairs in the vein axils. Three major veins radiate from the base where the stalk meets the blade.
![[photo of twig with raised lenticels]](/udata/r9ndp23q/trees/morus-alba-white-mulberry_0508_101121.jpg)
Twigs are reddish to orange-brown with scattered, raised lenticels (pores). New growth is slightly hairy becoming hairless the second year with the lenticels flattening out and turning whitish. Bark is thin and somewhat rough, turning gray to gray-brown with maturity. Twigs and leaves exude a milky sap when cut.
![[photo of mature trunk]](/udata/r9ndp23q/trees/morus-alba-white-mulberry_0508_100851.jpg)
Older bark forms flattish, gray-brown ridges with shallow, orange-brown furrows. Trunks can reach 20 inches diameter at breast height (dbh).
Fruit:
![[photo of fruit ©B.navez]](/udata/r9ndp23q/contrib/1024px-Morus_alba_fruits-bn.jpg)
Female catkins become nodding to pendulous fruit clusters, ½ to 1½ inches long, resembling elongated raspberries or blackberries. The color of fruit ranges from white to pink to red, usually turning purplish-black when mature but sometimes remaining white.
Notes:
White Mulberry is native to China where it is the favored food of silk worms. It was initially introduced to North America in the 1600s in the first of several failed attempts to establish a silk industry here. A fast growing tree that tolerates a variety of soil and moisture conditions, many cultivars have been bred and planted globally as a shade tree or ornamental and for its sweet, edible fruit. It escapes cultivation primarily via birds, which love the fruits and spread the seed far and wide; it has become a pest plant in parts of most countries where it has been introduced, crowding out natives. It even pops up in my own suburban lawn occasionally but is promptly removed.
White Mulberry is often confused with the native Red Mulberry (Morus rubra). While the leaf shape of both species can be quite variable, Red Mulberry usually has (mostly) unlobed leaves that are dull and somewhat rough on the upper surface and hairy on the lower, while White Mulberry leaves are (mostly) 3 to 7-lobed, smooth and shiny on the upper surface, hairy only along the veins on the lower, and tend to be smaller (max 4 inches long vs. 7 inches). White Mulberry twigs and bark also tend to be more orange than Red Mulberry. The two species are known to hybridize, which complicates matters, and the hybrid has been recorded in Minnesota scattered across our southern counties and as far north as Sherburne county (see the county distribution map above). The hybrid is not well-documented but is likely intermediate between the two.
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More photos
White Mulberry tree
White Mulberry trees
White Mulberry crown/branching
bark of young tree
more leaves
lower leaf surface only hairy along the veins
leaves in fall color
White Mulberry tree
White Mulberry trees
White Mulberry crown/branching
bark of young tree
more leaves
lower leaf surface only hairy along the veins
leaves in fall colorPhotos by K. Chayka taken in Ramsey County. Photos by Peter M. Dziuk taken in Anoka and Ramsey counties. Morus alba fruits By B.navez, via Wikimedia Commons, used under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Comments
Have you seen this plant in Minnesota, or have any other comments about it?
on: 2018-05-25 11:54:06
older tree
on: 2018-06-21 07:50:34
Older tree producing a huge volume of long white catkins.
on: 2018-07-10 23:16:28
I have a Mulberry in my backyard. Unsure to whether it's a red or white because of the common confusion. If it's a white, I'd like that eradicated because it attracts so many pests and rains it's berries all over.
on: 2019-07-07 12:52:44
Hello, I grew up with Mulberries and now that we have acreage, I would love to get some planted. I would like both purple and white. I am not sure where I can find them and if there are different varieties other than the color. Any advice is appreciated.
on: 2019-07-07 15:20:02
Nina, the berry color does not necessarily indicate the species. The two in Minnesota are the native red mulberry (Morus rubra) and the non-native white mulberry (M. alba), which can be invasive so please do not cultivate it. Check with native plant nurseries to see if any carry the native.
on: 2020-05-26 19:31:05
There is a huge tree in my backyard and babies sprouting elsewhere. Also another tree in my neighbor's yard. I just learned it was invasive and would like to get rid of it.
on: 2020-08-31 01:50:28
There are several of these growing on the border between my apartment complex and the business next door. I do not know which property they belong to, but there is no mistaking such oddly shaped leaves.
on: 2022-02-04 15:47:58
I found it difficult to determine if my subject is Morus Alba but the knowledge that the red and white hybridize readily makes me believe this tree is a hybrid.
on: 2022-05-28 12:14:08
Based on the description I'm quite certain the mulberry growing in my yard is a white mulberry. I'm going to cut it down before the birds start eating the berries.
on: 2022-10-01 08:35:51
I found a couple young trees on my property growing amongst red cedars. It made me wonder where the parent tree is as they weren't there 10 years ago. With the birds doing the spreading, who knows as it could be miles away.
on: 2023-05-30 13:22:53
Thus tree is a huge pest in my yard. They spring up just about anywhere seemingly overnight. The roots are springy and well anchored.
on: 2023-06-14 19:51:22
A bird gifted me with a tree that has lobed leaves and white and red rough surfaced berries. I think it's a mulberry. Thanks birdie, I'll keep it.
on: 2023-06-15 07:14:50
Kim, that is one way invasive species spread, of course. Birds will likely consume the berries from the tree in your yard and spread it elsewhere, thus contributing to the problem. :-(
on: 2023-06-27 12:34:59
We have a volunteer tree growing in our backyard. It's right on the edge of a woodland area where a small stream of storm water runoff goes down a valley towards the Minnesota river. It's about 10ft tall and growing fast. Appears to be a white Mulberry.
on: 2023-07-06 16:34:38
I don't Understand what is so Bad about Morus alba and Morus rubra hybridizing? Isn't this a good thing because it increases genetic diversity? Like the best of both worlds type of situation? Also if they hybridize doesn't that make the result native? Thus voiding Morus alba as invasive? It's not like we're loosing Morus rubra because It's just evolving with the help of morus alba right? Are we doing more harm by removing morus alba and getting in the way of Natural Evolution?
on: 2023-07-07 13:55:48
John, hybrids are not considered native unless it's two native species hybridizing. A hybrid pollutes the native genotype and does not really improve genetic diversity, but alters it in an undesirable way, losing more than it gains.
on: 2023-07-08 02:30:53
At what Percentage is the plant considered native? What if my Mulberry is 75% rubra & 25% alba. Is it Still Invasive even if it's mostly morus rubra? What does the hybrid loose if genetic diversity isn't really improved? What other native plants should we hybridize to improve genetic diversity & Fitness? To breed stronger versions of native plants so they can compete with the invasives.
on: 2023-07-08 07:11:15
John, we are not plant biologists so don't have answers to your questions. In any case, a 75%/25% hybrid does not happen unless a hybrid mates with one of its parents, which is unlikely since hybrids tend to be sterile, though we don't know about mulberry hybrids specifically.
on: 2023-07-20 10:08:30
my neighbour has a very old large mulberry tree which i think is either white or hybrid. i like to eat her mulberries and i enjoy her tree. until today i didn't know they were invasive. i have a smaller one that volunteered to grow in my yard which i was excited about but now i'm wondering if i should cut it down, it's only about 7 feet and doesn't make fruit yet.
on: 2023-08-14 16:21:08
Northwest about 15 mi. Near Holdingford. 1" dia tree, white mulberry