Mulberry

Morus species

Description

This tree has alternate, simple, often lobed leaves with rough surfaces. Its fruits are blue or black and many seeded.

Habitat and Distribution

Mulberry trees are found in forests, along roadsides, and in abandoned fields in Temperate and Tropical Zones of North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Edible Parts

The fruit is edible raw or cooked. It can be dried for eating later.

When eaten in quantity, mulberry fruit acts as a laxative. Green, unripe fruit can be hallucinogenic and cause extreme nausea and cramps.

Other Uses

You can shred the inner bark of the tree and use it to make twine or cord.

Steve's notes:

Mulberries can be used for dye. In fact, if you eat many, your fingers may be stained purple for a day.

For the record, after several of us ate our fill of the green berries, we did not get nauseous, nor did we have hallucinations.

Mulberry is one of the more delicious berries, but it is delicate. Don't bother trying to save the berries for later. Just eat them fresh off the tree.

Edible Plants | Mulberry