White Mulberry

Plant Characteristics

Cultivation

Scientific Names

This is the plant information box - for information on light; water; zones; height; etc. If it is mostly empty you can help grow this page by clicking on the edit tab and filling in the blanks!"This is the plant information box - for information on light; water; zones; height; etc. If it is mostly empty you can help grow this page by clicking on the edit tab and filling in the blanks!" is not in the list (If this plant info box on watering; zones; height; etc. is mostly empty you can click on the edit tab and fill in the blanks!) of allowed values for the "Jump in" property.

Read about White Mulberry in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Morus alba, Linn. White Mulberry. Figs. 2398, 2399 B. Lvs. light green, rather small, smooth or very nearly so above and often shining, the veins prominent beneath and whitish, variously lobed or divided, the basal lobes unequal, the teeth large and for the most part rounded or nearly obtuse, the branches gray or grayish yellow: fr. variable, usually narrow, 1-2 in. long white or violet, very sweet. China.— Morus alba has been cult.from the earliest times, chiefly for feeding the silk-worm. It is a frequent tree along roadsides and in the old yards in the eastern states, where the trunk sometimes attains a diam. of 2 ft. This half-wild form usually has rather small rounded shining lvs. with very large rounded teeth, and bears small whitish or violet frs. which are very sweet. Sometimes the frs. are an inch long, but they are oftener only half that length, and one sometimes finds trees on which the frs. are barely ¼ in. long. Now and then a tree bears fr. nearly or quite black. Birds, poultry and hogs are fond of these mulberries. The trees are usually very thick- topped and bushy growers, but sometimes one is seen which, when young, has branches as straight and trim as a Northern Spy apple. These half-wild trees are seedlings, and this accounts for their variability. Var. pendula, Dipp. Branches slender, drooping. Var. pyramidalis, Ser. (var fastigiata, Schelle). Tree of pyramidal form: lvs. acute, usually lobed. Var. laciniata, Beissn. (var. skeletoniana, Schneid.) Skeleton-leaved Mulberry. Lvs. regularly and deeply divided into narrow lobes, the terminal lobe and usually two of the lateral ones with very long points: a distinct and graceful form. Var. tatarica, Loudon (M. tatarica, Linn.). Russian Mulberry. Fig. 2400. A hardy type of M. alba which was intro. into our western states in 1875-77 by the Russian Mennonites. It differs little from the type of M. alba in botanical characters. As commonly seen, it is a low-growing very bushy-topped small tree with small and much-lobed lvs. The fr. Is usually very small and insipid, and varies from creamy white to violet, and almost black. Var. venosa, Del. (var. nervosa, Lodd. Var. fibrosa. Ser. M. urticaefolia, Hort.). Fig. 2397. Lvs. contracted and jagged, and very strongly marked with many white veins. It bears fr. ½ in. long. Among the horticultural curiosities this tree should find a place, although it is not grown by our nurserymen. Its ornamental value is considerable, especially when striking effects are desired. Rare in Amer. The history of this mulberry is obscure. Delile described it in a French report as long ago as 1826; of horticultural origin. The variations of this species allow of many Latin names to be applied. The following names, which one may find in horticultural literature, are referable to M. alba: byzantina, cedrona(?), colombassa, constantinopolitana, Fegyvernekiana, globosa, intermedia, italica, laciniata (of some), lucida, membranacea, macrophylla, Morettii, Morettiana, romana, rosea. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Plant Characteristics

Lifespan:	⌛	perennial
Origin:	✈	China

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	full sun"full sun" is not in the list (sun, part-sun, shade, unknown) of allowed values for the "Exposure" property.
Water:	◍	regular"regular" is not in the list (wet, moist, moderate, dry, less when dormant) of allowed values for the "Water" property., drought tolerant"drought tolerant" is not in the list (wet, moist, moderate, dry, less when dormant) of allowed values for the "Water" property.
Features:	✓	fruiting cultivars"Fruiting cultivars" is not in the list (evergreen, deciduous, flowers, fragrance, edible, fruit, naturalizes, invasive, foliage, birds, ...) of allowed values for the "Features" property.
Sunset Zones:		2-24, 26-41

Scientific Names

Moraceae >

Morus >

alba >

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More information about this species can be found on the genus page.

Cultivation

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Propagation

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Pests and diseases

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Cultivars

• 'Pendula' ('Teas' Weeping') - strongly weeping, low growing, produces fruit
• 'Chaparral' - weeping
• 'Fan-San'
• 'Fruitless'
• 'Illinois Everbearing' (a hybrid between White Mulberry and Red Mulberry) - early summer crop, plus smaller crop in autumn
• 'Kingan'
• 'Stribling' ('Mapleleaf')

Gallery

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  Ripening fruit of a wild color-like variety

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  photo 2

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  photo 3

External links

• w:White Mulberry. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• White Mulberry QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)