The Mulberry Fruit Tree

The Red Mulberry Tree (Morus rubra) is a fruit tree. The ripened fruit is edible and widely used in recipes for pies, fruit tarts, jams and jellies.

The fresh fruit keeps with refrigeration for several days and can be frozen. Wines and cordials are made from the fruit. The mulberry fruit matures from June through August and is abundant for both humans and wildlife.

Importance to Wildlife

Birds and small mammals eat the fruits of mulberry. Bird consumers include blue jays, cardinals, finches, mockingbirds, wood ducks, bluebirds, indigo buntings, kingbirds, towhees, orioles, brown thrashers, and woodpeckers. Opossums, raccoons, and squirrels feast on the mulberry fruit. Beavers consume red mulberry bark, and the limbs and foliage are eaten by white-tailed deer.

General Characteristics

A native of Eastern United States and Southern Canada, the mulberry tree is a deciduous tree with a rounded crown and generally free of pests and diseases. Mature height is from 15 to 70 feet tall. The bark is dark and scaly and thick. The inner bark is tough and fibrous and native Indians used this to make cloth. The roots are shallow.

Often the tree grows several trunks, appearing to be a large bush. A childhood nursery rhyme refers to ‚”around the mulberry bush”. The mulberry tree can be found as an understory tree but grows and produces fruit best in full sun and as a stand-alone tree.

Mulberry trees have been known to bear fruit in as little as four years, but the average seed-bearing age is ten years. Good seed crops are produced every two to three years. Mature fruits fall near the tree and are usually consumed before becoming fully mature. Seeds are spread by the waste from the birds and animals consuming the fruits.

Other Uses of Mulberry

The mulberry plant contains resveratrol, used to prevent bacteria or fungi, and the fruit and leaves are used in nutritional supplements. Unripe fruit and green parts of the mulberry have a white sap that is intoxicating and mildly hallucinogenic. Mulberry leaves, particularly those of the White Mulberry (native to Asia) are the sole source of food for the silkworm.

Vincent van Gogh immortalized the Mulberry Tree in a painting in 1889.

Negative Aspects of the Mulberry Tree

The ripened fruit of the mulberry tree has a downside. The deep purple color stains everything it touches. When picking the fruit from the tree, hands will become stained and almost impossible to remove the coloring from the skin. Birds that have snacked on the fruit will leave droppings which stains everything it touches. If the tree is planted near a driveway or sidewalk, the stain permeates concrete and walking on the fallen fruit will track the stain inside the home.

Careful consideration must be made when planning for a mulberry tree. It is an advantage to have the fruit for cooking and food for wildlife, but it is best planted away from traffic areas and with ample space around it.