Urban Foraging - Purple Tree Berries

Hi everyone!

Does anyone know what those berries are that look like small blackberries which fall from the trees in the upper Midwest around this time of year (June) and stain the sidewalks? We have them all over and I've heard that they're edible. If so I should really be out there picking!

What would you use them for?

Thanks,

Jody

sounds like mulberries

is so, they're edible
i try to share mine with the birds but they usually don't follow the rules - low ones are mine, those on the top for the birds
i just eat them fresh, but people make jams, pies, wine, etc from them

I agree. Sounds like mulberries. I eat them, feed the leaves, twigs and berries to my rabbits, and the leaves to silkworms when I have them. When I had chickens, they loves foraging under mulberry trees. The berries are pretty high in protein for a fruit.

Young emerging leaves are also edible for humans.

So I tried the berries and they are pretty good.

We have two mulberry trees on our property that I have now been able to identify, but they are not producing berries. Is there a male-female thing going on here, or is there something I can do that will help them produce?

Thanks!

Jody

Yes, there are male and female mulberry trees.

My uncle's tree responded well to heavy pruning. The high protein quality may account for the short shelf life. Use them or freeze them since they go mushy when stored fresh.

So do the males produce and the females not, or vice versa?

We'll get up there and prune - at least one of the trees definitely needs it.

Thanks!

Jody

It is my understanding that the berries in large amounts are a diuretic.

I was a camp counselor about 10 years ago and had a tent full of 12 year olds that found the mulberry tree before I did.

Hilarity naturally ensued.

try teaching a 12 year old moderation