White Mulberry
The White Mulberry, scientific name Morus alba, is a short-lived, fast-growing small to medium sized tree to 15-20 m tall, native to eastern Asia.
The fruit of the White Mulberry is insipid, unlike the much better flavour of the fruit of the Red and Black Mulberries. Many reference sources claim that the fruit is white to pink in color, which they can be in some variants, but the natural fruit colour of the species in the wild is deep purple.
On young, vigorous shoots, White Mulberry leaves may be up to 20 cm long, and deeply and intricately lobed, with the lobes rounded. On older trees, the leaves are generally 8-15 cm long, entire, cordate at the base and acuminate at the tip, and serrated on the margin.
White Mulberry is extensively planted throughout the warm temperate Northern Hemisphere, and is naturalized in urban areas of the United States, where it hybridises to some extent with the U.S. native Red Mulberry Morus rubra.
The leaves are the preferred feedstock for silkworms, and are also cut for food for livestock (cattle, goats, etc.) in areas where dry seasons restrict the availability of ground vegetation.
