Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Rosales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Morus rubra
FAMILY
Moraceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Red Mulberry at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Wayne's Word provides large-scale images of mulberry catkins.
INCLUDING
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Morus rubra var. rubra
FAMILY
Moraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Morus rubra
INCLUDING Vascular flora of Illinois (Mohlenbrock, 2014)
Morus murrayana
INCLUDING Vascular flora of Illinois (Mohlenbrock, 2014)
Morus rubra
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 3 (1997)
Morus rubra
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 057-02-002:
Morus rubra FAMILY Moraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Morus rubra
COMMON NAME:
Red Mulberry
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm191222_2365_m_rubra
Clay County AL
Cheaha State Park
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_361
)
Gill Newberry gn03_morus_female_flowers
March
Pistillate catkins are short-oblong and densely flowered, per Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Southeastern United States (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981).
)
JK Marlow jkm140411_875
April Spartanburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm140411_880
April Spartanburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm200422_3986
April Greenville County SC
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmmrubra_flwrwad
April Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
Staminate catkins are slenderly cylindric and loosely flowered, per Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Southeastern United States (Godfrey & Wooten, 1979 & 1981).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmmrubra_leefalls2
April Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
Flowers appear with the leaves, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Gill Newberry gn05_morus_rubra_fruits2
May
Fruit a multiple of drupes, resembling a blackberry, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm090601_001
June Greenville County SC
Fruit 2-3cm long, reddish, purplish or nearly black [when ripe], sweet, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
JK Marlow jkm090601_009
June Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow s090610_cd
June Greenville County SC
Leaves mostly 4-9" long, coarsely toothed, scabrous above, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
JK Marlow s090610_e
June Greenville County SC
Leaves often lobed on juvenile wood, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
COMPARE
leaves of Mulberry species
)
JK Marlow jkm130709_404
July Greenville County SC
Leaves of young trees & vigorous sprouts more lobed than those of mature trees, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow s090920_ab
September Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow s090920_c
September Greenville County SC
All veins and veinlets pubescent on underside of leaf, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm131020_930
October Spartanburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm201026_7937
October Spartanburg County SC
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Morus rubra
FAMILY
Moraceae
INCLUDING
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Morus rubra var. rubra
FAMILY
Moraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Morus rubra
INCLUDING
Vascular flora of Illinois (Mohlenbrock, 2014)
Morus murrayana
INCLUDING
Vascular flora of Illinois (Mohlenbrock, 2014)
Morus rubra
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 3
Morus rubra
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 057-02-002:
Morus rubra
FAMILY
Moraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Morus rubra
950
Tree
Perennial
Monoecious or Dioecious
Habitat: Bottomland forests, mesic slopes, disturbed areas, suburban woodlands, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
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
Radially symmetrical
4 sepals
Petals absent
4 stamens in staminate flowers
Superior ovary
Unisexual
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Red
Multiple of nutlets
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p300
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p517
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p270
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p156
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p027
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p244
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p197
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p44
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p245
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p214
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