{"slug":"morus-alba","scientific_name":"Morus alba","common_names":["White mulberry","Common mulberry","Silkworm mulberry"],"family":"Moraceae","type":"broadleaf_deciduous","mature_height_m":12,"mature_spread_m":12,"growth_rate":"fast","lifespan_years":75,"hardiness_zones":[4,8],"sun":"full_partial","water":"low","soil":"Grows in almost any soil including alkaline, compacted and dry sites; best in rich, moist, well-drained ground","native_range":"Native to China and India, spread worldwide with silk production.","description":"A fast, rounded, short-trunked tree with glossy, variably lobed leaves and sweet white-to-purple blackberry-like fruit in early summer on female trees. Brought over for a silk industry that never took off, it now grows along fences, alleys and roadsides across North America, stains everything beneath female trees and hybridizes with the native red mulberry, threatening its genetic identity. Its wind-blown pollen is a major hay-fever trigger in western cities, some of which have banned it. Fruitless male cultivars are sold as shade trees.","care":"Not recommended where listed. Existing trees: prune in winter, expect messy fruit, shallow roots and suckering, and pull seedlings by hand since herbicides work poorly on them. Bacterial blight and cankers are the main diseases.","benefits":["fast_canopy","shade","edible","birds","drought_tolerant"],"uses":["yard_shade","food"],"cautions":["invasive_elsewhere","messy_fruit","allergenic_pollen","surface_roots","weak_wood"],"image_url":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Rosales_-_Morus_alba_-_3.jpg","image_credit":"Emőke Dénes, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons","sources":["https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/morus-alba/","https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/MOAL","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morus_alba","https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Invasives/RegulatedSpecies","https://www.in.gov/dnr/rules-and-regulations/invasive-species/terrestrial-invasive-species-plants","https://www.pa.gov/en/agencies/dcnr/conservation/wild-plants/invasive-plants/invasive-plant-fact-sheets.html","https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/document/nh-invasive-plant-list-2024.pdf","https://www.ontarioinvasiveplants.ca/invasive-plants/species/white-mulberry/"],"data_note":null,"updated_at":"2026-11-08T01:00:46.205Z","page_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/morus-alba","markdown_url":"https://treerm.org/trees/morus-alba.md","regions":[{"country":"CN","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"native","note":"Native to China (and India).","source_url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morus_alba"},{"country":"US","region":null,"locality":null,"status":"adapted","note":"Naturalized across most of the US; fruitless male cultivars are still sold as shade trees in the Southwest.","source_url":"https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/MOAL"},{"country":"CA","region":"ON","locality":null,"status":"invasive","note":"Listed as an invasive plant by the Ontario Invasive Plant Council.","source_url":"https://www.ontarioinvasiveplants.ca/invasive-plants/species/white-mulberry/"},{"country":"US","region":"PA","locality":null,"status":"invasive","note":"On Pennsylvania DCNR's invasive plant fact sheet list.","source_url":"https://www.pa.gov/en/agencies/dcnr/conservation/wild-plants/invasive-plants/invasive-plant-fact-sheets.html"},{"country":"US","region":"VA","locality":null,"status":"invasive","note":"Virginia DCR Invasive Plant Species List, Low invasiveness rank.","source_url":"https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/document/nh-invasive-plant-list-2024.pdf"},{"country":"US","region":"IN","locality":null,"status":"prohibited","note":"Regulated under Indiana's Terrestrial Plant Rule: illegal to sell, distribute or transport.","source_url":"https://www.in.gov/dnr/rules-and-regulations/invasive-species/terrestrial-invasive-species-plants"},{"country":"US","region":"WI","locality":null,"status":"prohibited","note":"Restricted under Wisconsin NR 40 (male cultivars exempt).","source_url":"https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Invasives/RegulatedSpecies"}],"license":"CC-BY-4.0"}