Mulberry (Morus spp)

By Hklbrries

Red mulberry (Morus rubra) is native to the United States, but the Black Mulberry (Morus nigra) has naturalized over much of the Southeastern United States since it was imported in an attempt to start a silk trade here. Both have delicious berries and other parts of the plant are edible, too.

Mulberry trees are bird magnets, so if you like to have a variety of birds in your yard, then this is a great tree to have. One draw back is that the purple juice of the fruit will stain things, so the tree should not be located near a house, driveway, etc. Pick the fruit when it is ripe (usually early April in the south). One good method is to lay a piece of plastic on the ground under the tree and shake the limbs. The ripe berries fall off easily. The ripe berries can be used for sauces, jellies, jams, tarts, pies or just eaten raw.

Description:
Parts used: Fruit, young new shoots and leaves

A tree with 3 - 6" fine toothed, often 2-3 lobed leaves. Twigs hairless, sap of twigs and leaf stalks is milky.

Fruit is like blackberries, red then purple when ripe.
Found in rich soil, open woods and fence rows.

Uses: fresh fruit, jelly, cold drink and cooked vegetable.

Edibility: Good quality, neither widely distributed nor abundant.

Ingredients

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Preparation

Step 1

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