Family: MORACEAE
Mulberries form small to medium sized, long lived (300 years), deciduous trees. These easily propagated and transplanted trees are both hardy and drought resistant. They are also frost tolerant and well suited to cool areas. They are tolerant of shade and are suited to most soils and sites.
They are heavy (19-24 t/ha), regular, bearers of fruit. The fruit is delicious eaten raw and can be dried and powdered to produce a flour suitable for cooking. The fruit is used as a self harvest pig food supporting 2 - 3 pigs per tree at 86 trees per ha, for the fruiting season (60 days for Hicks variety which has the longest fruiting season of all). It is also an excellent self forage plant for poultry.
The tree coppices readily and the timber is good for tool handles and fence posts. The leaves are nutritious and can be fed to livestock including silkworm.
They are considered a good companion plant for grapes , for which they also form a trellis.