Part 37

Habitat: Woods, along roads, in disturbed areas.

Range: Native of Asia; naturalized from Maine to Minnesota, south to Texas, east to Georgia.

Distinguishing Features: The White Mulberry lacks hairs on the lower surface of the leaves (except sometimes along the veins), thus differing from the Red Mulberry.

RED MULBERRY Morus rubra L.

Growth Form: Medium tree up to 50 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 2 feet; crown broadly rounded, with many short branchlets.

Bark: Dark brown, divided into long, scaly plates.

Twigs: Slender, smooth or sometimes hairy, reddish-brown to dark brown, more or less zigzag; leaf scars alternate, half-round, elevated, with numerous bundle traces.

Buds: Pointed, brown, smooth, up to ¼ inch long.

Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades mostly ovate, abruptly pointed at the apex, more or less heart-shaped at the base, up to 6 inches long and sometimes nearly as broad, coarsely toothed, sometimes 2-lobed, sometimes 3-lobed, often unlobed, green and usually rough to the touch on the upper surface, paler and with short white hairs on the lower surface; leafstalks up to 1½ inches long, smooth at maturity. The leaves turn yellow in the autumn.

Flowers: Staminate and pistillate flowers borne separately, either on the same tree or on different trees, appearing as the leaves unfold, the staminate crowded into narrow, green clusters up to 2 inches long, the pistillate crowded into short, thick spikes up to 1 inch long.

Fruit: A cluster of tiny drupes up to 1½ inches long, at first red, becoming purple or nearly black, rarely remaining pale, sweet, juicy.

Wood: Light in weight, soft, durable, coarse-grained, orange-brown.

Uses: Fence posts and barrels; the fruit is edible.

Habitat: Woods, particularly along streams.

Range: Vermont across to Minnesota and South Dakota, south to Texas, east to Florida.

Distinguishing Features: Red Mulberry differs from White Mulberry in the presence of some hairs on the lower surface of the leaves.

TUPELO GUM Nyssa aquatica L.

Other Names: Swamp Tupelo; Water Tupelo; Cotton Gum.

Growth Form: Large tree up to 85 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 4 feet, often swollen at the base; crown spreading, with numerous branchlets.

Bark: Light gray to dark gray to brown, broken into thin scales.

Twigs: Stout, more or less angular, gray or brown, smooth; leaf scars alternate, broadly U-shaped, with 3 bundle traces.

Buds: Rounded, smooth, about ⅛ inch long.

Leaves: Alternate, simple; blades oblong to somewhat ovate, pointed at the tip, tapering to rounded to even heart-shaped at the base, up to 8 inches long and about half as broad, the edges smooth or with a few coarse teeth, dark green, shiny, smooth or somewhat hairy on the upper surface, paler and soft-hairy on the lower surface; leafstalks stout, up to 3 inches long, hairy.

Flowers: Staminate and pistillate borne on separate trees, appearing as the leaves begin to unfold, greenish, small, the staminate several in spherical clusters, the pistillate solitary on long stalks arising from the leaf axils.

Fruit: Fleshy, oblong, dark purple with pale speckles, up to 1 inch long, bitter, 1-seeded, ripening in September.

Wood: Light in weight, soft, close-grained, pale brown.

Uses: Paper pulp, broom handles, floors.

Habitat: Swamps and low woods.