I found this mulberry growing on my fence line last summer. I tried to identify it though some mulberry focused websites and came up with Morus Murrayana.
Am I correct or is this a Morus Rubra?
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Other people may reject you but if you lie in the forest floor for long enough the moss and fungi will accept you as one of their own!
What color is the tree's trunk? The trunk color is far better for identification of a species within the mulberry family since almost all mulberry leaves are so similar as to need a microscope to use them for identification of a species.
The Red and Black mulberry are so similar as to be indistinguishable by their leaves alone. The white species has a far redder appearance in the bark of both the trunk and the roots than the black or red species.
Redhawk
List of Bryant RedHawk's Epic Soil Series Threads We love visitors, that's why we live in a secluded cabin deep in the woods. "Buzzard's Roost (Asnikiye Heca) Farm." Promoting permaculture to save our planet.
It sure looks like a pure red mulberry, if it has a sandpaper feel to the upper leaf surface, I would say it certainly is. Whether or not it's a murrayana is hard to say. From what I understand, the murrayana is a recently discovered subspecies or variety of rubra found only in old growth forests of western Kentucky, and the only difference is slightly larger leaves and longer berries than the typical rubra. Hope that helps. Either way it's an awesome tree to have.
Dennis Bangham
pollinator
Posts: 926
Location: Huntsville Alabama (North Alabama), Zone 7B
Did some looking around at .edu websites. Looks like a Red Mulberry by the bark due to it having a greyish bark. The upper side of the leaves are rough and dull and distinct network of small veins and underside of leaf with lightly hairy with pale main veins.
Let me know if I am not assessing the characteristics right.
Got these descriptions from a Purdue.edu media website.
Other people may reject you but if you lie in the forest floor for long enough the moss and fungi will accept you as one of their own!
That does indeed appear to be a red mulberry Dennis, I have two or three of the red variety and two Blacks, we even manage to get to pick some of the fruits (the animals share begrudgingly but with five trees so far), I think the birds and squirrels get full or tired of eating the berries.
The white mulberry is the only variety I am lacking, but I've had one of them before and didn't really care for the flavor as much as I do the red and black varieties.
Redhawk
List of Bryant RedHawk's Epic Soil Series Threads We love visitors, that's why we live in a secluded cabin deep in the woods. "Buzzard's Roost (Asnikiye Heca) Farm." Promoting permaculture to save our planet.
Thanks tiny ad, for helping me escape the terrible comfort of this chair.
the permaculture bootcamp in winter (plus half-assed holidays)