White Mulberry Morus alba

Scientific Name: Morus alba (Moraceae).

English Name: White Mulberry (Mulberry family).

French Name: Mûrier blanc (='white mulberry tree').

5 Key Characters:

• small to medium sized tree. 
• generally young trees have long deeply lobed leaves, older trees have smaller unlobed leaves, but individual trees are very variable and can have multiple forms on the one tree.
• leaves pale and thin.
• deciduous.
• fruit can be white, pink or deep purple, sweet and bland, July - September.

Lookalikes: Black Mulberry M. nigra, which has darker, thicker leaves all of one shape.


Habitat: The banks of the Loire, close to the old silkworm production areas and troglodyte caves which were used in the industry.

Flowering Period: April-May.


Status: Widely cultivated in the past for the production of silkworms in the Loire Valley. Now an uncommon naturalised non-native in the wild.

Photographed by Loire Valley Nature: