Mulberry, Paper

Broussonetia papyrifera is a very fast growing introduced deciduous tree from Asia growing to 50 ft. The tree crown is broad and rounded with wide-spreading branches. It is often treated as an invasive species because of its proclivity to choke out native flora because of its very high consumption of water, which leaves less water to sustain the native flora. It invades disturbed areas throughout the eastern United States but is planted in Texas as an ornamental since it is a quite striking tree.

The LEAVES are variable in shape (even on the same branch), unlobed ovate cordate to deeply lobed, with lobed leaves more frequent on fast-growing young plants; they are 2.8–7.9 in long, with a rough surface above, fuzzy-downy below and a finely serrated margin. Shape ranges from heart-shaped and entire to multi-lobed and highly dissected. The leaves are usually alternate, but they can also be found whorled or opposite.

The male (staminate) FLOWERS are produced in an oblong inflorescence, and the female (pistillate) flowers in a globular inflorescence.

In summer, the pistillate flower matures into a red to orange, sweet, juicy FRUIT 1.2–1.6 in diameter, which is an important food for wild animals. The fruit is edible and very sweet, but too fragile to be commercialized.

The BARK is composed of very strong fibers, and can be used for making high-quality paper. (See: Japanese tissue, Japanese paper and Hanji.) The tender leaves and twigs can be used to feed deer, and the tree is sometimes nicknamed the “Deer’s Tree”.

The paper mulberry tree was brought to the Pacific during the Polynesian migrations, and its bark is widely used to make tapa cloth. The fruit is eaten by all WILDLIFE for its high energy content. Birds and small mammals have been know to get drunk on the fermented mulberries and then have issues typical to drunkenness, some fatal.