RED MULBERRY
Morus rubra L.
Growth Form: Medium tree up to 50 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 2 feet; crown broadly rounded, with many short branchlets.
Bark: Dark brown, divided into long, scaly plates.
Twigs: Slender, smooth or sometimes hairy, reddish-brown to dark brown, more or less zigzag; leaf scars alternate, half-round, elevated, with numerous bundle traces.
Buds: Pointed, brown, smooth, up to ¼ inch long.
Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades mostly ovate, abruptly pointed at the apex, more or less heart-shaped at the base, up to 6 inches long and sometimes nearly as broad, coarsely toothed, sometimes 2-lobed, sometimes 3-lobed, often unlobed, green and usually rough to the touch on the upper surface, paler and with short white hairs on the lower surface; leafstalks up to 1½ inches long, smooth at maturity. The leaves turn yellow in the autumn.
Flowers: Staminate and pistillate flowers borne separately, either on the same tree or on different trees, appearing as the leaves unfold, the staminate crowded into narrow, green clusters up to 2 inches long, the pistillate crowded into short, thick spikes up to 1 inch long.
Fruit: A cluster of tiny drupes up to 1½ inches long, at first red, becoming purple or nearly black, rarely remaining pale, sweet, juicy.
Wood: Light in weight, soft, durable, coarse-grained, orange-brown.