Summary ⁴

Morus rubra, commonly known as the Red Mulberry, is a species of mulberry native to eastern North America, from Ontario and Vermont south to southern Florida and west to southeast South Dakota and central Texas. Although common in the United States, it is listed as an endangered species in Canada.

Adaptation ⁵

Red mulberry is fire intolerant. However, it colonizes post-fire sites when sufficient moisture is available.

Damaging agents ⁶

Red mulberry seems to be vanishing from  at least a portion of its central range, possibly due to a  bacterial disease. The effects and extent of this disease have  not been investigated thoroughly, but it is known that red  mulberry trees are becoming increasingly scarce (2). The only  noteworthy leaf pathogens of red mulberry reported in the United  States are leaf spots caused by a species of Cercospora,  Mycosphaerella mori, and Pseudomonas mori (4). Red  mulberry also is susceptible to witches' broom, Microstroma  juglandis, but the cause is unknown.

    A variety of insects feed on red mulberry leaves, including the  European fruit lecanium, Parthenolecanium corni; Comstock  mealybug, Pseudococcus comstocki; and cottony maple  scale, Pulvinaria innumerabilis. The American plum borer,  Euzophera semifuneralis, and the mulberry borer, Doraschema  wildii, attack twigs and stems of red mulberry (5).

    Red mulberry has been rated as moderately tolerant of flooding as  it usually withstands being inundated with up to a foot of water  for a single growing season. It normally succumbs, however, after  being flooded for two growing seasons (1).

Special uses ⁷

The highest use of red mulberry is for its large, sweet fruits.  These are a favored food of most birds and a number of small  mammals including opossum, raccoon, fox squirrels, and gray  squirrels. The fruits also are used in jellies, jams, pies, and  drinks. In the past, the fruits were valued for fattening hogs  and as poultry food.

    Red mulberry is used locally for fenceposts because the heartwood  is relatively durable. Other uses of the wood include farm  implements, cooperage, furniture, interior finish, and caskets  (7).

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Steven J. Baskauf, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://bioimages.vanderbilt.edu/baskauf/38370
2. (c) Dan Mullen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/8583446@N05/3593636753
3. (c) Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/services/media.php?env=botany&irn=10303482
4. Adapted by Jonathan (JC) Carpenter from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morus_rubra
5. Public Domain, http://eol.org/data_objects/1388312
6. (c) Unknown, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/22778875
7. (c) Unknown, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/22778877

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• African Plants - a photo guide
• Atlas of Living Australia
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• eFloras.org
• Flora Digital de Portugal
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• Go Botany
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• VASCAN by Canadensys
• World Flora Online

iNat Map