White Mulberry

The leaves are 3-6 inches long, and alternate on branches. They are generally ovate (egg-shaped with a pointed tip),  and they have a smooth top and a serrated or toothed border. Interestingly, the leaves can be irregularly lobed and take on a variety of shapes with 1, 2 or sometimes up to 5 or more lobes! If you visit the white mulberry in the fall season, leaves are changing color from green to butter yellow before being shed because this tree is deciduous, not evergreen. 

When White Mulberry trees are young the bark appears as orange-brown with lenticels. They become gray with long, uneven ridges as they get older. The bark appears damaged although it has a zigzag pattern and its scales frequently lack dark borders. 

It is best to admire this tree in the spring or summer season. Small white flowers with no petals are borne in little clusters called catkins. They are unisexual, but both male and female flowers are usually present on a single tree. Wind pollination transfers sperm-containing pollen from the male to the female flowers, where fertilization can occur. The fertilized eggs then develop into fruits beginning in May around late July, when it is best to observe the white mulberry tree.  

The cylindrical fruits of the white mulberry tree are pink, white, or purplish when close to being ripe. The pigment responsible for the deep red and purple colors of mulberries is anthocyanin. The amount of anthocyanin increases as the fruit ripens. It looks close to a raspberry and possesses the same traits as one, such as being juicy and easily squishable. It is also called an aggregate fruit, due to the individual fruitlets that are clustered in what we call a berry. A latex produced by the berries is toxic or hallucinogenic before they are ripe, but once ripe, they are edible for humans. Berries are dispersed by birds and other wildlife, such as foxes, squirrels and skunks. 

Silkworms benefit from the white mulberry serving as their main source of food from leaves. That is why this tree, and its worms, are used in production of commercial silk in Asian countries like India and China. White mulberry pills are also taken as a treatment for high blood sugar. The bark is also used in medicine, and the fiber from the bark can be utilized to make textiles and paper. I hope you enjoyed learning as much as I did researching the white mulberry tree! 

Feel free to head over Robinson Hall to see the white mulberry tree and all of its glory as well as other beautiful fruiting trees around campus!

These resources are a product of Dr. Sara Wright’s Plant Diversity course in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences Department. You can read more about me and the White Mulberry below.