Mulberry Tree Mystery Chronicles, continued

These images are from two different mulberry tree specimens, and I believe them to be two different species as well. The fruits are starting to mature, and when the lighting is better I’ll share some of those!

For those just joining us, we have a bit of a year-old-mystery on our hands concerning the various mulberry trees growing around the farm where I live outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Last month Sam gave us some great identification tips in the comments:

sam said...

"To distinguish Mulberrys:

Paper Mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera) Leaves are densely hairy, and the fruit is round.

White Mulberry (Morus alba) Aggressive tree but shade intolerant, leaves are usually glossy above and the margins have rounded teeth. Ripe fruits tend to be lighter (think pink to purple) than M. rubra or M. nigra, though this is not always the case.

Red Mulberry (Morus rubra) Uncommon, but shade tolerant and prefers moist sites. Can grow to a fairly large size. The leaves are usually rough on top, margins have pointed teeth, and are not as glossy as M.
alba.

Black Mulberry (Morus nigra) similar to M. rubra, it is the shortest of the lot, often with a twisted, leaning trunk. The best clue is strongly cordate (heart shaped) leaf bases."

I’m confident that sooner or later, we’ll get this all sorted out.

If you’re a mulberry expert, give us your two cents!