Morus alba - White or Common Mulberry (Moraceae) ------Morus alba is a weedy tree that has become natur- Trunk alized in the Eastern U.S. Weeping forms of White -the bark on young branches orangish and becomes Mulberry that are fruitless make acceptable darker brown with age architectural elements in the constructed landscape. USAGE Function FEATURES -weeping cultivars are interesting accent or specimen Form plants. -the species is a large tree (up to -where a relatively fast-growing, weeping tree is 60' tall x 60' wide) wanted, Weeping Mulberry can make a unique accent -male cultivars (fruitless) are plant smaller in size (35-40' tall x 35- Texture 40' wide) -coarse when bare -broad, rounded-top habit -medium in leaf -moderate to rapid growth rate Assets Culture -urban tolerant (salt tolerant; may be used by seaside) -will grown in virtually any soil except wet areas -strong architectural form for weeping cultivars -urban tolerant, will withstand drought, air pollution, -generally trouble-free salt spray, compacted soils Liabilities -easily transplanted and adaptable -limited seasonal appeal -selected cultivars (mainly the weeping forms) are -messy fruit litter (for the fruiting species) moderately available -numerous pest and diseases -numerous cosmetic and serious diseases (bacterial -weak-wooded blight, cankers, mildew) and pests (scales and mites) Habitat affect this tree, especially in hot, humid environments -Zones 5-8 Foliage -Native to Eastern and Central China -alternate arrangement -leaves are simple, often SELECTIONS lobed (both types Alternates common on 1 branch) -other weeping trees/shrubs (Caragana arborescens -margins are serrated 'Pendula', Malus Royal Fountain® ('Huber'), 'Louisa' -shape of the leaf blade or 'Red Jade', Prunus x Snow Fountains™ is ovate, but with a ('Snofozam'), Ulmus glabra 'Camperdownii', etc.) fairly sharp (acute) tip -other tough, urban tolerant trees (Fraxinus -leaf base is rounded or pennsylvanica, Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis, cordate Ulmus hybrid such as 'Pioneer' and 'Homestead', etc.) -petiole distinct, ca. 1" Cultivars - Variants - Related species long -Morus alba 'Chaparral' - Fruitless Weeping -leaf surface smooth, Mulberry - pendulous cultivar grafted onto a 4-5' dark green, and often standard resulting in a distinct, umbrella-like shiny architectural form due to its long weeping branches -no distinct autumn that give a dense canopy color -Morus alba 'Pendula' - a weeping form reaching a 20' Flowers x 20'. White to purple fruit produced in summer. -plants may be -Morus rubra - Red Mulberry - a native American monoecious (separate tree distributed through the east (from Kansas east and male and female flowers New York south), found in Ohio in fertile, moist on the same plants) or soils, floodplains, prairies, hills, and pastures. Leaves dioecious (male and of the red mulberry are larger and thicker than those of female flowers on white mulberry, blunt-toothed and often lobed. They separate plants) are rough on their upper surfaces and pubescent [=polygamo-dioecious] underneath. -small, greenish flowers -stalked Note: Morus alba was initially introduced from -hanging catkins China for silkworm production; the tree was also -not showy widely planted for its edible fruit. Unfortunately the Fruits species has become naturalized and is considered -cultivars are generally fruitless weedy. The white mulberry is so-named for the color -in the species, the fruit is an edible berry-like of its buds, rather than the color of its fruit. The structure (technically, a collective fruit, not a true fruitless cultivars, especially those that are weeping berry) can find use in the constructed landscape as they offer Twigs a distinct architectural shape and wide adaptability to -thin, green to brownish-gray stressful conditions. The upright fruitless cultivars -smooth and shiny may find use in more extreme environments where few other trees will grow.