The mulberry tree takes its name from its fruit , which looks like an elongated blackberry or raspberry . There are three species of mulberry tree , which variegate in size and home ground . Their Chuck Berry colour may be deep purple , carmine , pink or white-hot , depending on the species . Some newer fruitless cultivars have been produced to swear out as decorative trees .
Species
The red , or American mulberry tree ( Morus rubra ) , is a native of the easterly one-half of the United States . The blanched mulberry tree ( Morus alba ) is native to easterly and central China , but became domesticate in North America when it was bring out by the early colonists for silkworm production ; it is involve as a weed tree in many parts of the country . The disgraceful mulberry ( Morus nigra ) is in the beginning from western Asia ; hardy only to zone 7 , in the U.S. it is limited mainly to the Pacific seacoast .
Description
All mulberry tree specie are deciduous , but they depart as to when they leaf out . The leaves of the white mulberry appear in former spring , weeks before those of the fatal mulberry tree . The mulberry ’s ellipse parting are a smart , sheeny light-green and on an irregular basis lob , turning yellow in the fall . clean mulberry can reach 80 feet , and can also be pyramidic or weep in form . Red mulberry tree trees may reach up to 70 feet . The black mulberry is much shorter , strain only 30 foot , and unless direct tend to get as a multi - stemmed bush . The three specie differ greatly in longevity , since it is unusual for a crimson mulberry tree tree to survive more than 75 years , while a contraband mulberry may produce yield for century of years .
Fruit
Although people think of the mulberry as being a Charles Edward Berry , it is technically an aggregated yield , consist of smaller fruits call up stone fruit . The coloration of the fruit changes as it ripen , conk from red to a deep purplish - red . Unlike the blackberry and raspberry , a root word stays on the yield after it is pick . Although the yield can be mussy if it falls on sidewalks and driveways , it is very attractive to wildlife , and can be used to make PIE , jam and preserves .
Mulberries and Silkworms
Silkworms , which consume nothing but the leaves of the clean mulberry tree , have been tame in China for thousands of years , where their silk is used to make beautiful fabrics . Some plant scientist , most notably Luther Burbank , have sought to organise good mulberry trees to increase silk yield , says Dr. Thomas Ombrello of the Union County College Biology Department .
Culture
Mulberries are attractive and undemanding tree , turn over adequate room . The California Rare Fruit Growers , Inc. internet site urge a blank space of at least 15 foot between each tree . Keep mulberries away from sidewalk to avoid staining . They require a localization in full sun and choose a well - drain recondite loam . They require little dressing , and are repellent to drouth , requiring water only during juiceless seasons .
