Mulberries

Three distinct tree fruits are known as mulberries. The white mulberry (Morus alba) is a native of western Asia. The two-inch fruits are used dried more commonly than they are fresh. The leaves of the white mulberry are used as feed for silkworms, for which James I of England and his successors offered a subsidy. For this reason, the white mulberry was introduced to America in early colonial times. The plant seeds prolifically, and some of the early trees and their wilding progeny are extant in the Carolinas and Georgia.