E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Morus alba L.
white mulberry
Moraceae (Mulberry family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Morus alba
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Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Large shrub or small tree, 10-15 m tall; stems spreading, bark greyish.

Leaves:
Broadly egg-shaped to heart-shaped, 4-12 cm long, coarsely toothed to irregularly lobed.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of imperfect flowers in short cylindrical spikes; male spikes drooping, 10-25 mm long and loosely flowered; female spikes 10-15 mm long and crowded with flowers; calyces fleshy.

Fruits:
Achenes, white to pink, red, purple or blackish, covered by the fleshy calyces (blackberry-like), 1-2.5 cm long.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
Green

Blooming Period:
Early Spring

Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Purple
Present from Spring to Summer

Source: The USDA

Habitat / Range

Moist to dry, disturbed areas in the steppe zone; rare in SC BC; introduced from Asia.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Exotic	SNA	Exotic	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Morus alba var. multicaulis (Perr.) Loudon
Morus alba var. tatarica (L.) Ser.
Morus tatarica L.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Moraceae
Flora North America treatment for Morus alba
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

UBC Herbarium Scanned Collection Record
Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-05-12 12:24:37 AM ]

Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.