Morus rubra

Bark of the red mulberry (Morus rubra)

The Red Mulberry (Morus rubra ) is a deciduous tree of the genus of the mulberry family in the mulberry family ( Moraceae ). This plant is native to eastern North America.

Description

The Red mulberry grows as a deciduous tree and reaches stature heights of 10 to 15 meters, at preferred locations and up to 20 meters. The gray-brown bark of the trunk breaks up into long vertical strips in old age. The change-constant leaves reach a length of 7 to 14 cm and a width of 8 to 12 cm. Stipules are present. The leaves are quite variable in shape; most of the leaves are cordate to ovate, but there are also two-and three -lobed leaves. The leaf margin is coarsely toothed. The autumn color is yellow.

The red mulberry is dioecious getrenntgeschlechtig dioecious, but also grow monoecious specimens bearing male and female flowers at the same time. The flowering time is in April to May. The flowers are in hanging kitten -shaped inflorescences. The male inflorescences are 3-5 cm long; females are 8 to 12 mm long and 5-7 mm wide. The green, small flowers are cruciform. The male flowers contain four intergrown bloom and four stamens. The female flowers contain four intergrown bloom and an above -earth, green ovary. The transfer of pollen carried by the wind ( anemophily ).

The cylindrical fruit associations are 2-3 cm long; they mature in summer and change so their color from green to red to dark purple. Each individual fruits contains a core, which is the actual fruit - a nut - is. The fruits are tasty and edible.

Dissemination

The red mulberry is originally native to eastern North America. There, extends the distribution area of southern Ontario and Vermont to Florida, west to the south-eastern South Dakota and the middle Texas.

The Red Mulberry preferred sites with moist soils. It is often found along rivers. It occurs at altitudes ago to about 600 m.

In Europe, the Red Mulberry is hardly found outside the Botanic Gardens.

Ecology

The fruits of the Red Mulberry are mainly birds, but also mammals such as opossums, raccoons and squirrels as food.

The leaves serve many insects as food, including Parthenolecanium corni, Pseudococcus comstocki and Pulvinaria innumerabilis.

Diseases and Pests

The leaves of red mulberry can be attacked by the fungus Mycosphaerella species and Pseudomonas mori mori.

Branch and stem wood is attacked by the beetle species Euzophera semifuneralis and Dora scheme wildii.

System

The first description by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus was published in 1753. The Red Mulberry hybridized in North America often with the introduced from Eurasia White Mulberry (Morus alba).

Use

The fruits of the Red Mulberry be eaten or for jams, fruit cake and used for juice preparation. The timber is to some extent used as a fence post, but also to drum preparation, and as a furniture and wood coffin.