Morus rubra Linnaeus. Common name: Red Mulberry. Phenology: Mar-May; May-Jun. Habitat: Bottomland forests, mesic slopes, disturbed areas, suburban woodlands. Distribution: MA, VT, NY, MI, WI, and se. SD south to s. FL and w. TX.
Origin/Endemic status: Native
Taxonomy Comments: M. murrayana D.E Saar & S.J. Galla (or alternatively treated as a variety of M. rubra) was described as distinct from M. rubra and occurring widely in eastern North America (KY, TN, MO, IL, IN, MS, LA, VA, NC, and AL) (Galla et al. 2009; Saar et al. 2012). It is alleged to differ from M. rubra by its leaves to 38 cm long (vs. to 15 cm long), the outer three leaves on branchlets almost always > 15 cm long (vs. < 15 cm long), leaves with caudate apex (vs. acute to acuminate apex); mature fruit to 4 cm long and 1.5 cm wide but often thinner, with much size variation on a single individual (vs. mature fruit to 3 cm long). All the alleged characters appear to be highly variable and correlated with vigor.
Other Comments: The fruits are very variable in quality from tree to tree.
Synonymy ⓘ: = Ar, C, Can, F, FNA3, G, GrPl, GW2, K4, Mi, Mo3, NcTx, NE, NS, NY, Pa, POWO, RAB, S, S13, Tat, Tn, Va, W, WH3, WV; > Morus murrayana Saar & Galla — Il, Galla et al (2009); > Morus rubra L. — Il, Galla et al (2009); > Morus rubra L. var. murrayana (Saar & Galla) Saar — Gardner et al (2021), Saar et al (2012); > Morus rubra L. var. rubra — Tx, Gardner et al (2021), Saar et al (2012); > Morus rubra L. var. tomentosa (Raf.) Bureau — Tx; Morus rubra L. Basionym: Morus rubra L. 1753
Links to other floras: = Morus rubra - FNA3
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Wetland Indicator Status:
- Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: FACU
- Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: FACU
- Great Plains: FACU
- Midwest: FACU
- Northcentral & Northeast: FACU
Heliophily ⓘ: 5
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© Keith Bradley | Original Image ⭷
© Joey Shaw source | Original Image ⭷
© Bruce A. Sorrie | Original Image ⭷
© Keith Bradley | Original Image ⭷
© Richard & Teresa Ware CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷
© Gary P. Fleming | Original Image ⭷
© Gary P. Fleming | Original Image ⭷
© Bruce A. Sorrie | Original Image ⭷
© Bruce A. Sorrie | Original Image ⭷
© Richard & Teresa Ware CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷
© Gary P. Fleming | Original Image ⭷
© Joey Shaw source | Original Image ⭷
© Carol Ann McCormick | Original Image ⭷
© Jay Horn source | Original Image ⭷
© Richard & Teresa Ware CC-BY-NC, permission granted to NCBG | Original Image ⭷Feedback
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Horticultural Information
Intro:
Stems: Pith continuous. Young twigs (1-year-old or less) brown or green or orange or reddish-brown, glabrous or pubescent. Twigs (2-4 years old) glabrous. Leaf scars half-round or oval or round, bundle scars numerous, stipule scars present, stipule scars circumferential. Bark of mature trunks flaky or furrowed or ridged. Buds axillary or pseudoterminal, brown or green or reddish-brown, 3-8 mm long, ovoid, blunt or sharp, pubescent, ciliate or puberulent, bud scales imbricate.
Leaves: Leaves deciduous, simple, petiolate, alternate, (6-)10-18(-36) cm long, (5-)8-12(-15.5) cm wide, obovate or orbiculate or oval or ovate, leaf margins crenate or serrate or doubly serrate, unlobed or moderately lobed or deeply lobed, palmately lobed, leaf lobes 1-5(-7) per leaf, leaf apices acuminate or acute, leaf bases cordate or oblique or rounded or truncate. Leaf upper surface blue-green or green or yellow-green, glabrous or glabrate, pilose. Leaf lower surface green or yellow-green, pubescent, puberulent or tomentose. Leaf venation palmate. Petioles 1.4-3 cm long, glabrous or glabrate or pubescent, tomentose. Stipules present, 10-25 mm long, caducous, circumferential.
Inforescence: Inflorescences axillary, catkins or spikes, flowers sessile or stalked.
Flowers: Flowers unisexual or pistillate or staminate. Perianth. Calyx radially symmetric, synsepalous. Sepals 4 per flower, calyx tubes 2-2.5 mm long, green, ovate, sepal apices rounded, pubescent, hirsute, persistent. Corolla absent. Androecium. Stamens 4 per flower, separate, filaments 3-3.5 mm long. Gynoecium. Ovaries superior, pistils 1 per flower. Gynoecium syncarpous, 2 carpels per flower, ovaries 1.5-2 mm long, styles 1-2 per pistil, placentation apical.
Fruits: Fruits accessory fruits or achenes or drupes or multiple fruits, (1.5-)2.5-4(-6) cm long, black or purple or red, fruit maturation 1 years.
Comments: Leaves may be unlobed or with 2, 3, or occassionally 4-7 lobes; fruits are cylindrical clusters of achenes, each achene surrounded by fleshy sepals, the whole appearing somewhat like a raspberry.
Height: 5-20(-25) m tall.
plant sale text:
bloom table text:
description:
stems: Pith continuous. Young twigs (1-year-old or less) brown or green or orange or reddish-brown, glabrous or pubescent. Twigs (2-4 years old) glabrous. Leaf scars half-round or oval or round, bundle scars numerous, stipule scars present, stipule scars circumferential. Bark of mature trunks flaky or furrowed or ridged. Buds axillary or pseudoterminal, brown or green or reddish-brown, 3-8 mm long, ovoid, blunt or sharp, pubescent, ciliate or puberulent, bud scales imbricate.
leaves: Leaves deciduous, simple, petiolate, alternate, (6-)10-18(-36) cm long, (5-)8-12(-15.5) cm wide, obovate or orbiculate or oval or ovate, leaf margins crenate or serrate or doubly serrate, unlobed or moderately lobed or deeply lobed, palmately lobed, leaf lobes 1-5(-7) per leaf, leaf apices acuminate or acute, leaf bases cordate or oblique or rounded or truncate. Leaf upper surface blue-green or green or yellow-green, glabrous or glabrate, pilose. Leaf lower surface green or yellow-green, pubescent, puberulent or tomentose. Leaf venation palmate. Petioles 1.4-3 cm long, glabrous or glabrate or pubescent, tomentose. Stipules present, 10-25 mm long, caducous, circumferential.
inflorescence: Inflorescences axillary, catkins or spikes, flowers sessile or stalked.
flowers: Flowers unisexual or pistillate or staminate. Perianth. Calyx radially symmetric, synsepalous. Sepals 4 per flower, calyx tubes 2-2.5 mm long, green, ovate, sepal apices rounded, pubescent, hirsute, persistent. Corolla absent. Androecium. Stamens 4 per flower, separate, filaments 3-3.5 mm long. Gynoecium. Ovaries superior, pistils 1 per flower. Gynoecium syncarpous, 2 carpels per flower, ovaries 1.5-2 mm long, styles 1-2 per pistil, placentation apical.
fruits: Fruits accessory fruits or achenes or drupes or multiple fruits, (1.5-)2.5-4(-6) cm long, black or purple or red, fruit maturation 1 years.
comments: Leaves may be unlobed or with 2, 3, or occassionally 4-7 lobes; fruits are cylindrical clusters of achenes, each achene surrounded by fleshy sepals, the whole appearing somewhat like a raspberry.
cultural notes:
germination code:
native range: eastern United States & Mexico
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