Red Mulberry
Although the finest mulberry-trees are said to be found along the Mississippi and the lower Ohio Rivers, I have seen large, thrifty trees in Connecticut and on Long Island. They grow from Massachusetts to Florida and west to Nebraska. Birds are very fond of the mulberry. The first rose-breasted grosbeaks I ever saw were in a great mulberry-tree on a farm in the northern part of Connecticut. The berry is shaped much like a blackberry; it is juicy and sweet, but lacks flavor. It grows on a short stem and is about an inch in length. In July when the berry ripens it is a dark purple.
There is a decided variety in the shape of the leaves on one tree; some have seven lobes, some none at all. The edges of most are scalloped, though I have seen leaves with smooth edges.
The white mulberry is seldom found growing wild. The fruit is like the red mulberry but perfectly white.