I grew up picking black raspberries and occasionally found interest in the deep purple gems hanging just overhead, but, it wasn’t until very recently that I took a serious look at these often unnoticed, untouched beauts.
There are two common mulberry tree species (plus many off shoot hybrids) here in the U.S. , the native red mulberry and the Asian white mulberry. The red mulberry, which reaches a height of about sixty-five feet, has rough, reddishbrown bark and the leaves are rounded, toothed, some oval shaped, some lobed. The fruit, also oval in shape, hangs from a thin, green fruit stalk and is composed of many very dark purple berries (when ripe.) Each little berry has its own seed. Red mulberry trees will be the ones that you are more likely to come across while foraging.With the thought of beginning a silk industry in mind, white mulberry trees were imported from Asia during the 1800’s. Being too much work, this idea was quickly abandoned, though, not before this fertile tree swept its way across much of America. As the name implies, white mulberries are white with clearly visible black seeds in the center of each tiny berry.
