Red Mulberry | Fourth and Gill Arboretum

Other Names:
Native to:: Eastern / Central North America
Sidewalk Visibility:: Excellent
Public?: No
Diameter:
Conservation Status
Description:: If there is an epicenter of the Red Mulberry's native range, Knoxville would be very close to it. In fact, the native Cherokee people referred to Knoxville as kuwanda'talun'yi, which translates to "Mulberry Place". Red Mulberry trees can be tricky to distinguish from their non-native cousins. Red Mulberry leaves are larger, thicker, and have a distinctive sandpaper-like texture, whereas White Mulberry leaves are smooth/glossy with fewer serrated teeth on the margin. Both produce similar fruit, but many consider the Red Mulberry to have a more pleasingly complex flavor. Unfortunately, White Mulberries threaten to subsume our native species via hybridization. The majority of mulberry trees in the neighborhood are White (Morus alba). Lumber from these trees is dense and similar to that of Black Locust (in both appearance and decay resistance). It shares these characterisitics with another close cousin: the Osage Orange tree.
Notes:: This location seems to have a cluster of large mature Red Mulberries. Unclear which among them is the largest. Side note: there may be a Red/White hybrid located in the alley directly opposite of where Deery terminates into Lovenia just to the right side of 409 Lovenia.