Native Red Mulberry

Thought I’d share for those into native plants, but I think I found a true native red mulberry tree. Leaves and bark look identical. I found it in a forest preserve near my house. I’ve found a lot of hybrids between red and chinese white mulberry, but this seems to be a pure red mulberry strain. I’m in central IL. Let me know what you think.

looks like it to me! i’ve got a number of wild red mulberries at my place in western nc. this guy looks just like the larger ones. too bad it wasn’t in your sights about a month ago during their fruiting season!

greg mosser wrote:looks like it to me! i’ve got a number of wild red mulberries at my place in western nc. this guy looks just like the larger ones. too bad it wasn’t in your sights about a month ago during their fruiting season!

Does it need another tree to pollinate for fruit production? It was the only red mulberry I saw in the vicinity.

check it in june to see! there’s some variation within M. rubra: most trees are monoecious and have both male and female flowers and are self-fertile fruiters. a few have only one sex or the other (dioecious female trees in isolation can still produce fruit with no seeds). some seem to be dioecious and change back and forth. your tree is an individual and you’ll have to see what it’s like!

not all of my trees fruit, but many of them do.

greg mosser wrote:check it in june to see! there’s some variation within M. rubra: most trees are monoecious and have both male and female flowers and are self-fertile fruiters. a few have only one sex or the other (dioecious female trees in isolation can still produce fruit with no seeds). some seem to be dioecious and change back and forth. your tree is an individual and you’ll have to see what it’s like!

not all of my trees fruit, but many of them do.

Cool, I’ll have to check it out. My parents have a hybrid in their woods and the mulberries are pretty good. I was wondering what do the pure reds taste like?