Mulberry Tree Identification: Red vs White, Look-Alikes

A mulberry tree has alternate, toothed leaves in up to three shapes on the same tree (unlobed, mitten-shaped and three-lobed), milky sap when a twig or leaf stalk is snapped, and blackberry-like fruit hanging from the twigs in early summer. Purdue University's dendrologist Sally Weeks lists the three leaf shapes for both North American Morus species and notes that both exude milky sap when cut in summer.

Four checks, in order:

• Leaves. Alternate along the twig, toothed, and varying in shape on one tree. Tree Identifier gives 2 to 8 inches as the usual length.
• Sap. Snap a leaf stalk; a white, milky drop is a strong mulberry sign. NC State notes the sap can irritate skin, so wash your hands afterwards.
• Fruit. Juicy, bumpy, blackberry-like fruit that hangs from the twig rather than sitting on a thorny cane.
• Bark. On older trees, long ridges; the colour of the inner bark helps separate red from white mulberry (below).

Purdue's comparison table, with the caveat that the two species hybridize and offspring can be hard to place:

• Leaf size: red 4 to 10 inches; white 3 to 4 inches. NC State's plant toolbox gives 3 to 5 inches for red, so size alone is not decisive.
• Upper surface: red is usually rough, dull and dark green with a dense network of small veins; white is usually smooth, shiny and bright green.
• Underside: red is lightly hairy with pale main veins; white is hairless except perhaps on the main veins, which are thick and prominent.
• Teeth: red has smaller, more pointed teeth; white has larger, rounded teeth.
• Twigs and buds (useful in winter): red twigs are pale tan and each bud scale has a black band on its edge; white twigs are pinkish-brown and the bud scales have a brown band.
• Ripe fruit: red is purplish-black and usually over an inch long; white is white, red or purple and about three-quarters of an inch.
• Bark: red is grey with flattened, scaly ridges and tan inner bark; white has thick, tan, braided ridges with yellowish inner bark showing between them.
• Where it grows: red mulberry is a shade-tolerant tree of moist woods; white mulberry takes over sunny, open ground such as fence rows, fields and cities.

The name white mulberry refers to the species, not the fruit colour. Purdue says it is a common misconception that white mulberry fruit is white; most often it is red to purple when fully ripe, and trees with white ripe fruit are uncommon. Red mulberry fruit is nearly black when ripe.

Two more clues from Purdue: red mulberry fruits hang singly along the twig and the crop is sparse, while white mulberry usually carries abundant clusters. Some trees are male and never fruit, so a tree without fruit can still be a mulberry.

• Red (slippery) elm. Purdue calls it the closest leaf match to red mulberry: similar size, dull, dark green and rough. Look for a lopsided leaf base, a doubly toothed margin, even rougher leaves and very short leaf stalks on the elm.
• Sassafras. Also has three leaf shapes, but Purdue says its leaves are smooth on top, whitish underneath, have no teeth, and smell of citrus when crushed.
• Paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera). A relative in the same family with rough, variably shaped leaves, but much longer leaf stalks, and small round fruit balls attached directly to the twig (Purdue).
• Linden. Tree Identifier separates it from mulberry by the leaf base and the absence of milky sap.
• Blackberry. Similar fruit, but it grows on thorny canes, not on a tree (Tree Identifier).

NC State Extension's plant toolbox lists ripe red mulberry fruit as edible, raw or in jams, and rates the tree's toxicity as low. It names the sap and the unripe fruit as the toxic parts, causing stomach upset and hallucinations, and notes that the sap can cause skin irritation.

That is not a reason to eat any wild fruit on a first guess. Before eating anything foraged, be certain of the identification, ideally confirmed in person by someone experienced or your local extension office, and skip any fruit that is not fully ripe. If someone feels unwell after eating a wild plant, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222 in the U.S., which HRSA says connects you to your local poison centre; for a pet, call your vet.

Not in species: the sources we checked describe mulberries as trees, and a bushy one is usually a young tree or a many-stemmed white mulberry. Purdue says white mulberry is often a small, multi-branched tree, commonly with witches'-brooms (dense clusters of twigs) in the crown, reaching about 40 feet. Red mulberry can reach 60 feet (Purdue; NC State gives 25 to 60 feet) and in the open tends to have a short trunk with large, low, spreading limbs.

The bans are city ordinances, not state laws, and they are about pollen. El Paso Matters reports that El Paso made it unlawful to sell or plant any mulberry tree in the city after September 1, 1992, because male trees release enough pollen to cause severe asthma reactions in some people. The same report says Las Vegas, Tucson and Albuquerque cracked down on mulberry pollen in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Existing trees were not ordered removed.

White mulberry also has a reputation as a weed. Purdue calls it a truly weedy species that colonises open, sunny sites, spread by birds and mammals that eat the fruit.

Purdue reports that white mulberry probably occurs in every county of Indiana, while red mulberry is difficult to find north of Indianapolis, likely because of lost woodland habitat and hybridisation with the far more abundant white mulberry. Red mulberry is also commonly misidentified as white. If you find a tree with large, rough, dull leaves and near-black fruit in shady woods, it is worth checking carefully against the comparison above.

Photograph the top and underside of two or three leaves of different shapes, a close-up of the bark, and any fruit. In winter, add a twig with buds. Scan them in PlantLens, then check the result against the red-versus-white list above, since hybrids are common. For other trees, see our leaf identification guide and bark identification guide.

Research and drafting for this page were done with the help of AI, and every figure was then checked line by line against the sources listed at the end. Where sources disagree, we say so rather than pick one silently. If you find a mistake, tell us and we will correct it.