If so, chances are you were looking at a red mulberry tree - Morus rubra.
Red mulberries are edible. They look like blackberries but their taste more closely resembles a raspberry. You can use them in any recipe that calls for raspberries or blackberries.
They make excellent jelly and wine. You can also dehydrate them and use them like any other dehydrated berry, including adding them to trail mix.
WARNING - do not go out eating berries from trees, bushes, or plants unless you absolutely, without a doubt, have a positive ID on the plant. People die from eating poisonous fruits and berries!Red mulberries are starting to ripen right now and will continue to ripen through August. Look for the tell-tale blackberry-looking fruits on the trees.
Besides the obvious fruit, the other main way to ID a red mulberry tree is by its leaves. They are the real giveaway as to the identity of the tree.
Red mulberries have large - 3 to 5 inch - leaves with serrated (saw-toothed) edges. The top of the leaf is quite rough, with a sandpaper texture. The underside of the leaf has fine white hairs and is almost velvety.
Here is the big key in identifying Red Mulberry by the leaf: the leaves have three distinct shapes.
Single lobe (heart-shaped):
Two lobes (mitten shaped):
Three lobes (reminds me of a fleur-de-lis):
NOTE: Not all three leaf shapes may be present on the tree. It's important that you know all three shapes.
If you see these kinds of leaves (SANDPAPER TEXTURE IS A MUST) on a 30-40 foot tree or shrub, especially one that grows in a well-drained area, near a pond, swamp, creek, or river, AND the blackberry-like fruits are present... you've got yourself a Red Mulberry tree.
CAUTIONS:
Do NOT attempt to eat any other parts of this tree. The broken twigs ooze a white sap that can be poisonous.
Do NOT eat unripe berries from this tree. They can cause stomach irritation, nausea, and vomiting. Only eat berries that are very dark purple or almost black. Do NOT eat white or red berries.
Thanks for the info on these trees!
ReplyDeleteI had one years ago on our Tennessee farm,I'll have to ask my son if it's still there? I just ordered two from Nature Hills and got them (3-4ft)half price!
I also want an Elderberry Bush!
OK, I thought I had a mulberry tree--the berries certainly look like that and the leaves are the right shape--but the leaves are not rough at all. Any idea what I might have and whether the berries are edible? Is it an imported white mulberry?
ReplyDeleteIf the leaves are smooth-surfaced, you probably have a White Mulberry (which is a native of China), or a hybrid of the two. White Mulberry came to the US and quickly hybridized with Red Mulberry.
ReplyDeleteThe white mulberries are edible and they remain white, even when ripe. When the berries are "full" and juicy, not hard, then they're ripe.
The berries turn red, but not all the way black. Perhaps a hybrid, then?
ReplyDelete