Red Mulberry
Categories:
Vii Wild Food On The Trail
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.