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I was identifying a relatively young tree in my yard, and I'm pretty sure it is a Mulberry tree. I live in Massachusetts and came across this article stating that red Mulberries are endangered in Mass so I was motivated to investigate further.

Red and white Mulberries are the most common types, but it doesn't seem to be either one.

Red: The undersides of the leaves are not downy so it seems that it is not red. The undersides are somewhat scratchy. I also live close to Boston (Somerville) which seems like an unlikely location. On the other hand, it is growing on the side of a hill in the understory of some large spruce trees which seems to be a preferred location for red.

White: Looking at this article, the leaf margins do not look like a white. The leaf edges of mine are pointy but white has more rounded edges.

I have some pictures below. Would love to find out which kind of Mulberry it is.

More details in response to comments:

  • Tree hasn't fruited yet
  • Leaves are about 4-7"
  • Tree is about high 15' high
  • You can see a bud in the photos

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VividD
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new name
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  • Might be the russian mulberry. – black thumb Jul 04 '16 at 02:05
  • My goodness what a treasure, Kekito!! What is the color of the fruit? – stormy Jul 04 '16 at 19:35
  • @blackthumb, looks like Russian is another name for white. – new name Jul 04 '16 at 20:08
  • @stormy, haven't seen any fruits yet. Maybe it is too young? – new name Jul 04 '16 at 20:08
  • How long have you lived with this tree? I don't think it is young at all but photos can get scale confused, I do that all the time. What is the height of this tree? I am also worried about all that hedera helix ivy for ground cover. I'd pull that back from the trunk at least a 6' radius. Just rip it out. I'd like to see the trunk/soil connection and pull the soil back off the trunk down to the roots. There should be no soil, ivy, mulch on the bottom of that trunk. The roots should start right below the soil. Have you seen any of the buds, vegetative or reproductive? – stormy Jul 04 '16 at 20:20
  • There was one bud I could see and it had a very sharp tip, which is a White id. Rounded points on the serration, prominent veins below, no tomentose on underside of leaf, pinkish brown twigs. How large on average are those leaves? 4-10" or 3-4" (3-4" would be possibly the distinction between red and white...white is smaller). This is quite a good problem. Someone on this site will know right away. They probably are gone for a party, grins!! – stormy Jul 04 '16 at 20:50
  • And I've been looking at Morus nigra...ummm, looking very likely. Rounded serration, white prominent veinage below leaf, no tomentose...?? – stormy Jul 04 '16 at 20:54
  • What color are the buds? It could be one of the numerous species found in China or other countries that you don't see a lot, if at all, in the USA. – Brōtsyorfuzthrāx Jul 04 '16 at 22:01
  • Are the fruits long like Morus macroura? – Brōtsyorfuzthrāx Jul 04 '16 at 22:07
  • I know Morus macroura is for warmer regions. I'm guessing the tree *might* live in cooler regions without fruiting, though. That's a guess. Morus macroura is thought to have perhaps come from the White Mulberry. – Brōtsyorfuzthrāx Jul 04 '16 at 22:11
  • Thank you all for your help! Looks like white Mulberry is the answer. – new name Jul 06 '16 at 16:45
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    It doesn't look like my Chinese red mulberry at all. My leaves were more deeply serrated. – Bulrush Jul 07 '16 at 13:28
  • Are the buds dark or light are the buds? Are the leaves waxy? See this link with some ID information on mulberries: https://www.growingmulberry.org/identification It should be noted that there actually are lots of species of mulberries (rather than a few only), but most of them are probably a lot more common in China than in the USA. There are also hybrids between some of the US species. – Brōtsyorfuzthrāx Nov 11 '17 at 06:52
  • Its bee a few years have you figured it out? Did the tree produce fruit? – Ashley Sage Jun 09 '19 at 12:43

5 Answers5

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I think it's a White.

The leaf margins look a bit off because they range from more saw-toothed to more rounded. The leaves with fewer lobes have sharper margins.

Ime (have 4 on my land, two old, two young) they'll be >15' tall before the bark starts acquiring ridges.

Paul Nardini
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  • I was wondering about the ridged bark...good point. Do you know how long it takes for these trees to fruit...to mature to be able to have fruit? Still not happy with White, though, or Red for that matter. I know very little about this species. Why hasn't his tree fruited yet? Too much shade? – stormy Jul 05 '16 at 20:04
  • Based on my old Mulberry trees, they do love their sun. Limbs that grow into part shade die to the bole, and branches that sprawl their way to full sun fruit the most. -- I know very little as well - just how mine behave. -- Could be too young or soil could be exhausted of P (did the bud flower well, if so was there any formation?). Could also be a male. -- I'm as curious as you are. – Paul Nardini Jul 07 '16 at 04:21
  • I am not convinced at this point that it is a white...grins. What other species of Morus are you familiar? Do you know anything about nigra...or black mulberry? Do you know if they are separate sexes (dang can't remember that term at the moment)...that would make sense if his isn't flowering/fruiting. – stormy Jul 07 '16 at 22:52
  • I'm not convinced it's a white either, I just suspect. -- Looks like Blacks' leaves have more pronounced bases than these. -- Just a couple weeks ago I read some things about non-fruiting male Mulberries for landscaping. But iirc they still flower, so we're back to: is it flowering well and not fruiting -> maybe a male, or is it not flowering well -> maybe not enough sun. --- So far the only thing not pointing to White is OP's estimation of leaf size. Not digging on OP, but I have doubts with that Hedara there for a (very bad) scale comparison. – Paul Nardini Jul 08 '16 at 13:35
  • To the first question: I'm not even super-familiar with the Mulberry Trees I have on my land. Even the "limbs grown into shade die to the bole" is totally an "in my experience" observation. -- I just have a lot of exp with plant identification, maybe learning a few basic things about each. -- Like with this one - leaf bases are a big point when determining ID with close-in-appearance plants. Blacks have a Cordate Base on their Apiculate leaves, (pronounced base on their spade-shaped leaf is less jargon-y). -- idk. I could be way off - I always accept that. :) – Paul Nardini Jul 08 '16 at 13:46
  • Let's not give up. Even cordate bases aren't decisive. Cool to be able to 'speak the language'!! This tree does need to have all those tiny skinny branches in the shade taken off. Guess these guys 'bleed' a lot so shouldn't do too much all at once. Would like more pictures with something to help with the scale of this tree. Definitely pull those vines from the base and make sure that trunk is completely out of the soil/mulch. – stormy Jul 09 '16 at 07:13
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looks like bitter sweetnightshade shade to me.

rdb
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It looks like a white mulberry. According to this site, https://www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/354710 Image from this site

"Ecological threat in the united states 6 White mulberry invades forest edges and disturbed forests and open areas, displacing native species. It is slowly outcompeting and replacing native red mulberry (Morus rubra) through hybridization and possibly through transmission of a harmful root disease"enter image description here

Treeman
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Everyone is wrong it's actually a native red mulberry. All you have to do is check the leaf, the red is hairy and light green, the white mulberry is smooth and dark green. To bad everyone missidentified this rare tree ! I wonder how many native trees have been missidentified and cut down. It's a shame that people jump to conclusions without having all the knowledge on the subject.

Joe
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Pretty sure it’s a red mulberry. Moved in 3 years ago and this is the first year I’ve seen berries. No idea on what variety of red or if it is native or not but really looking forward to the first harvest. It appears like it will be a bumper crop since the branches are literally weighed down with fruit. Not sure if it made a difference, but even though I didn’t know what it was I’ve pruned it every year and it always grows so much faster after cleaning out some of the extra branches.

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Kristie
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