Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Rosales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Morus alba
FAMILY
Moraceae
NEW! Click to go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Read more about White Mulberry at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Wayne's Word provides large-scale images of mulberry catkins.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Morus alba
FAMILY
Moraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 057-02-001:
Morus alba
FAMILY
Moraceae
COMMON NAME:
White Mulberry, Silkworm Mulberry, Russian Mulberry
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_moal_001_lvd
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Terry Holdsclaw tdh_morus_alba_3759
April Catawba County NC
Flowers in stalked, axillary, pendulous catkins, per Manual of Woody Landscape Plants.
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Terry Holdsclaw tdh_morus_alba_3763
April Catawba County NC
Pistillate catkins are short-oblong and densely flowered, per Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Southeastern United States.
)
Terry Holdsclaw tdh_morus_alba_4821
April Iredell County NC
Staminate catkins are slenderly cylindric and loosely flowered, per Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Southeastern United States.
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JK Marlow jkm140523_154
May Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Leaves shiny, green, and glabrous above, with several lobes or none, per Trees of the Southeastern United States.
COMPARE
leaves of Mulberry species
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JK Marlow jkm140523_161
May Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Leaves glabrous below except sometimes hairs on main veins & in their axils, per Trees of the Southeastern United States.
)
JK Marlow jkm140523_162
May Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
Terry Holdsclaw tdh_morus_alba_1
May Iredell County NC
Ripe fruits black, purple, red, pink or white, per Weakley's Flora.
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JK Marlow jkm140611_709
June Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm140611_711
June Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm131020_937
October Spartanburg County SC
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (11/30/12):
Morus alba
FAMILY
Moraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Morus alba
FAMILY
Moraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 057-02-001:
Morus alba
FAMILY
Moraceae
949
Tree
Perennial
Monoecious or Dioecious
Non-native: east Asia
Habitat: Disturbed areas, vacant lots, roadsides, moist forests, per Weakley's Flora
NEW! Click here to see a map from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US showing range and abundance.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2006
- Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2013
- SC Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2014
- US Forest Service Southern Research Station
- Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, 2014
DOES THE PLANT HAVE "MILKY SAP"?
Has translucent to milky-white latex (milky sap not always evident in winter)
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring
Yellowish-green
Unisexual
Radially symmetrical
4 sepals
Petals absent
4 stamens in staminate flowers
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
White/ Pink/ Blackish-purple/ Red
Multiple of nutlets
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC p387
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control p107
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide p350
- Trees of the Southeastern United States p198
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide p214