White Mulberry (Morus alba)

Plantae>Magnoliophyta>Magnoliopsida>Urticales>Moraceae>Morus alba L.

White Mulberry (Morus alba) leaves

White Mulberry in a fairly common small tree of waste places, introduced from Eurasia.

White Mulberry (Morus alba) leaves The leaves are similar in shape to the native Red Mulberry (M. rubra) and the introduced Paper Mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera), but are glossy and less rough above. Like those two, the shape is extremely variable.
White Mulberry (Morus alba) fruits The blackberry-like aggregate fruits turn from green to white to red to black as they ripen. Duke campus, 5/28/03.
White Mulberry (Morus alba) flowers Pistillate (female) flowers.

Durham, NC 4/4/07.

White Mulberry (Morus alba) flowers Detail of pistillate flowers.

Durham, NC 4/4/07.

White Mulberry (Morus alba) flowers The staminate (male) flowers are more compact than those of Red or Paper Mulberry.

White Mulberry is normally dioecious, meaning male and female flowers are borne on separate trees, but this tree also had some female flowers.

White Mulberry (Morus alba) Bark of a young tree.

Durham, NC 4/4/07.

More information:
Poisonous Plants of NC
Trees of Wisconsin
University of Connecticut
Virginia Tech Dendrology

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Revised 4/7/07 cwcook@duke.edu

All photographs and text ©2007 by Will Cook unless otherwise indicated.