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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.



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