Scientific name: Morus rubra
Family: Moraceae (Mulberry family)
Red mulberry is a native Ohio tree. Its red to purple fruit is sweet and a food source for humans and wildlife alike and can be used for pies, jams, wine, and more. Wildlife serves as the mechanism for their dispersal. Red mulberry adapts to many types of soils of various pHs and moisture conditions, and it grows in full sun to partial shade. Many pests and diseases can affect red mulberry, but none seem to slow their rapid growth rate.
Identification
LEAF: Dull dark green leaves, 4 to 6 inches long, are alternate, broadly oval, and serrated. Leaves vary from having no lobes to up to five lobes (often two to three lobes) with uneven bases. Multiple leaf shapes can
be seen on the same branch, making them polymorphic. Leaf upper sides are rough with hairy undersides, unlike smooth and glossy white mulberry leaves.
TWIGS AND BUDS: Twigs grow rapidly with prominent winter buds and pale lenticels. Buds have many scales (four to eight).
FRUIT OR SEED: Fruits are red, purple, or black when immature and red-black when maturing in the summer. Berries resemble blackberries and are approximately 1 inch long, sweet, and edible, relished by squirrels, birds, and other mammals.
BARK: Young golden-brown bark becomes lightly fissured, eventually forming long, flat ridges and narrow fissures on scaly mature bark.
MATURE HEIGHT: 40-60 feet.
Photo credits: Arieh Tal (https://botphoto.info), Steven Baskauf
Lower Olentangy Urban Arboretum 